Spread My Wings
by ChidoriQueen
Summary: Meet the heroine of this story: a bitter and resentful sixteen year-old by the name of Fujikawa Sukochi. After the accidental death of her brother and parents' divorce, she decided that she had given up on happiness and isolated herself from her step-family and classmates. But what happens when a plot twist named Sohma Hatori enters her life? Collab with NatsuAki.
1. Chapter 1- Lies

"You cannot protect yourself from sadness without protecting yourself from happiness."

- Jonathan Safran Foer

XXX

_"Nee-chan! Nee-chan!" the cheerful boy with the curious brown eyes called out, giving his twin sister a hug. The girl giggled sweetly, and twirled him around before they collapsed on the hard wood floor of their living room, laughing together. Content. Happy. Everything was perfect._

_"We'll always be together, won't we, nee-chan?" he whispered to her, resting his head on her shoulders._

_"Always. I promise, Daichi."_

_Suddenly, a crimson and magenta swirl of mist circled around his head, and his eyes glowed a fiery red, boyish voice transforming suddenly into a deep, haunting one. "But you lied to me, nee-chan. It was never supposed to be this way. I'm gone. You broke your promise. I can't forgive you. It's your fault that everything has fallen apart. It's your own fault. I am gone. And I always will be gone."_

I widened my eyes, waking up from the blurry nightmare that left me in a cold sweat, panting heavily. I turned my head sideways, staring at my blaring alarm clock, before groaning, slamming a hand on the goddamn thing.

The nightmare always reminded me of all the broken promises, plus the things that had gone so hopelessly wrong in my life. My own fucking pathetic problems. Who gave a shit about starvation in Africa? Everyone but me. I had my own crap to deal with.

I rolled over in bed, burying herself once more on the covers, wanting to fall back into the embrace of blissful sleep while I was still allowed to. Another stupid summer come and gone. Another stupid, different school filled with yet more idiots. Why couldn't my stepfather's job just stay in a single damn place?

"Hey, Sukochi! You have to wake up now," my thirteen year-old stepsister Kiyomi whined, thrusting the door open. Her chestnut hair was wet, and the scent of her sickly sweet watermelon shampoo filled my room. So much for privacy.

I scowled darkly at her, sitting up slightly and running my fingers through my tangled bed head, "Just let me sleep in for one day. Can't you just fuck off? School's going to start tomorrow anyways."

"God, nee-chan, why do you always have to be so mean to me?" She pouted, but the two simple words had already sent a pang through my heart. Everything in me just snapped.

"Don't call me nee-chan!" I growled at her, flopping face down into my pillow.

Because the only one that had been allowed to call me that was Daichi.

And now...no one could ever have that privilege ever again.

"Dad and Mom want you down for breakfast," Kiyomi reminded me softly. "That's all I wanted to say. Sorry for bothering you."

I listened as she stepped out of my bedroom, closing the door. I hated this. I hated this so much. Hated how everyone treated me like a bomb about to go off. I was explosive and unpredictable in their eyes.

I sighed, tumbling out of bed and forcing myself to stumble to our shared bathroom. I splashed my face with water, and carefully brushed my teeth.

Looking in the silver mirror in front of me, I studied my face. Long. Thin. Not what anyone with eyeballs would call "pretty". Almond-shaped stormy gray eyes. Disheveled dark hair. Nothing at all special.

Why do I always have to feel so stupid? Like I'm the one that does everything wrong?

After my brother died in a car accident, everything in my goddamn life just fell apart. My parents' marriage. My confidence. We all just wallowed in our holes of misery and tried to get through the tragedy as a family. But we just couldn't.

Everything got pretty fucking worse after that. My dad's tiny self-run business went bankrupt. We moved to a crappy apartment that we shared with an opera singer. Arguments raged every single day. And somehow, Daichi's death always got dragged into them. As if that was anyone's fault. As if we could have stopped that drunk driver from ramming into him and dad on that icy road.

I broke my promise to Daichi. We weren't together forever. I couldn't protect him. Why did God choose for him to die? Why not me? Why my innocent twin brother?

He would have gone on living. He would have convinced my parents to force themselves through it.

He would have made sure everything was okay. He would move on if I was gone.

I really was pathetic.

Everything in my life was just stupid. Candy-coated. Fake. Everything. Just everything.

And tomorrow, I was going to yet another high school. The birthplace of all things stupid and fake.

Doesn't that sound absolutely thrilling, reader? Can you just imagine my excitement?

XXX

A tide of students rushed through the open doors of the high school. Friends called out enthusiastically to one another. Teachers attempted to calm the hordes of hormonal teenagers.

Stupid, stupid high school. Kaibara High School, to be specific.

I shoved my way past the crowd, scowling at an undersized boy that had accidentally trodded on my feet. My eyes flickered helplessly between the room numbers hung up beside classroom doors and my schedule. First days were always hell. Getting used to another damn school always took a couple of months. But the good thing was, it wasn't very difficult to leave my former school. I wasn't the type of sentimental girl to get attached to things. The closest thing I've ever had to a friend in one of these hellholes was a mute boy that enjoyed frying ants with magnifying glasses along with a sadistic middle-school me for companionship.

I sound like a wonderful person, don't I?

"Hey, do you need help?"

I turned around towards the source of the amused male voice, glimpsing a boy with dark hair and brown eyes that was leaning casually against his locker.

"Who says that I need help?" I scoffed at him, hating that sleazy grin that teased the corners of his lips.

"Come on, don't say that!" he laughed, beckoning me over to where he was standing. "Everything about you screams 'newbie'. Do you want to wander around this place like an idiot all day?"

I grudgingly udging over to where he was standing and doing my best to ignore that annoyingly triumphant smirk on his face. I handed him my schedule, watching as his onyx eyes examined the sheet of crumpled paper. His face broke out in a goofy smile, and he pointed towards the room number, "Cool, we're in the same class. What a coincidence. 2-A. Right down the hall. You better hurry up before you're late."

Same class as this idiot? This place doesn't seem too promising already.

And I hated the way he said "coincidence".

Yes, it was a complete "coincidence" that a truck had rammed into the car on the side that Daichi was sitting near. It was a "coincidence" that I was sick that day and couldn't go to swimming practice with him.

"So, tell me your name, my dear," he gave me a playful shove forward in the direction of our classroom, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I scowled at him, before replying reluctantly, "Fujikawa Sukochi. And please don't call me that."

"I've known you for about two minutes and you're still being rude," he wiggled his eyebrows, before laughing at the expression on my face. The boy held his hand out to me, winking, "I'm just kidding, Princess. The name's Sohma Shigure. You'll meet my adorable cousins in just a minute."

Cousins? There were more of these guys? .

And _Princess?_

The boy flung open the door to the nearest classroom, eyes lighting up as he yelled, "Aya-kun! It's been such a long time!"

I sighed, following him as he ran excitedly inside, embracing a boy who had the same immature, playful aura as he did. His silver face fell to mid-back, and his eyes were a shocking gold with flecks of pale green.

"Oh, my dear Shigure!" the boy trilled, releasing his friend with tears in his eyes. "Life has denied me all pleasures in not seeing you for the past two days-"

"I can't explain my despair, Aya-"

"Neither can I-"

"But I met this new girl in the hallway!" Shigure hopped playfully up and down, pointing at me. "She's rude and doesn't have a sense of humor, though, but don't let that get to you! I'm sure that she'll all sweet and girlish on the inside-"

"EXCUSE ME?" I almost shouted. I was painfully aware of the strange looks we were getting from the elderly woman that was our teacher and my bewildered classmates. I couldn't blame them, though. "WHAT WAS THAT?"

"And she'll definitely get along with Ha'ri, I'm positive-"

"Ooh, and that bored, dull expression, too! You're a genius, Shigure!"

"Forgive my stupid friends," a smooth voice interrupted their chatter, and a tall boy materialized in front of me, sighing and turning to the two boys. "Just calm down, you idiots. Class is going to start in a couple of minutes. You're just embarrassing yourselves."

"Ha'ri, you're such a downer!" Shigure pouted, arm slung around the other boy.

"Just sit down," the teacher spoke sharply, whacking a ruler menacingly against her calloused palm. She was beefy and large, brown eyes beady, hair an unruly white hurricane that swirled around her head. "I don't tolerate nonsense in here."

I held up my hands in surrender, walking as briskly as I could to an empty desk near the back of the room.

Yes, I was wearing a uniform that was probably about two sizes too big. On purpose, of course. Did they really think that I was going to wear a skirt that had a hem higher than my knees? Hell no. I just wore an old belt that used to belong to my father to hold up the shin-length skirt, despite how tacky I probably appeared to my bitchy female classmates. Of course my sailor suit blazer was baggy and I had to pin it back with clothespins to make sure it wouldn't sag too much. Sure, I looked entirely out of place in this stupid school.

But what the hell did they expect me to do about it?

"Good morning, class." The teacher forced a toothy smile, standing up and tapped the blackboard with a chunk of chalk. "Allow me to introduce myself. Minami Hotaru. Second-year teacher at this high school for fourteen years. I'm planning on retiring after this school year finishes-"

"Thank _God._" I heard Shigure sigh, earning a giggle from the two girls sitting to my far left.

The teacher's eyes zipped to him, momentarily pausing her introductory monologue, before giving him a sweet smile. "What was that, my dear boy? Care to say it louder?"

God, that woman had the ears of an...elephant. Or a dolphin. Whatever animal had the most sensitive hearing. It was surprising that she could pick that up from the front of the room, especially since she seemed like a stupid old bat.

"I-" Shigure gulped, before "Ha'ri" gave him a silencing glare, standing up and nodding his head at Minami-sensei politely.

"What my friend means to say is that it is wonderful that you are deciding to retire from your profession after years of service, and that he is thanking God for allowing you to enjoy a peaceful life after such diligent service, Minami-sensei," he finished in a mild, respectful tone, sitting down and ignoring all of the dumbfounded stares. I raised an eyebrow at him. This was that idiot Sohma's cousin.

The teacher engaged into an intense, silent staredown with him in which the class stayed frozen in place, before she sighed, shooting Shigure an icy glare, "You're lucky that you have your friend over here to back you up, you ignorant dunce. I can assure you that you won't be so lucky next time."

Wow. I had a great impression of this school already.

"I will say this, and I will say this only once. I have zero tolerance of fooling around. My simple rules will be obeyed. No talking out of turn. Be respectful to me, yourself, and your peers. Turn in your homework on time. Be on time for class. Enjoy yourselves as best as you can. I am here to thoroughly teach you our fascinating second-year curriculum, and I have to say that it is highly enjoyable and a wonderful learning experience. I'd like you all to each stand up and introduce yourselves. Your full name, age, and three things that you find interesting about yourselves."

I stifled a groan. Three things I found interesting about myself?

The first boy in the very front row cleared his throat and turned around to face us all, "Akiyama Hideki. Age sixteen. I like to play basketball, go running with my friends, and my favorite subject is math."

"Quite the talented one, aren't you, Akiyama? Next." Minami-sensei flicked her ruler in the direction of a nervous-looking mousy-haired girl, who gulped and stood up, hands shaking.

"J-Jenny Grayson. S-sixteen in a...month. I used to live in America, but I'm just here for a foreign exchange program," she stuttered in ludicrously-awful Japanese. "Um, well, my uncle's an actor in California and I like British literature..."

"Sound more sure of yourself, girl," the elderly woman pointed out bluntly. "Keep on going, class."

Introductions were always such a pain in the ass. I slouched in my chair, tuning out on the conversation and doodling moustache on a clean page in one of my freshly-bought composition notebooks.

"Sohma Shigure. I was sixteen years old as of two months ago!" an annoyingly peppy and cheerful voice interrupted my moment of peace. "My favorite things to do in my spare time are writing amateur romantic comedies and reading shojo manga! What I really want to do in the future is become a best-selling author!"

"Sohma Hatori. Sixteen years old. Shigure and Ayame-kun are my cousins. My father was a doctor and it is my ambition to follow in his footsteps, and my favorite subjects are math and science. It's nice to see you all again," his clipped, even voice rang throughout the classroom, and a couple of girls excitedly exchanged glances and whispers at the sight of him.

"Sohma Ayame! I simply adore reading fashion magazines, sketching traditional Japanese kimonos, and spending time with my dear cousins." The third Sohma leaped out of his seat and flipped his long silvery hair behind his shoulder, blowing an affectionate kiss at his cousins.

There was an awkward moment of silence, until Minami-sensei cleared her throat and pointed her ruler at me. "And you?"

"Oh, me? Um...," I was at a loss of words for a moment, shooting a glare at a couple of girls giggling in front of me. I coughed into my fist, and deciding to wing it, I said in a formal voice, "Fujikawa Sukochi. Age sixteen. Well...I like dangos, sukiyaki-"

"I was expecting you to go farther than your food preferences." My teacher raised a penciled eyebrow in my direction, and I fought back a scowl.

"My greatest wish of all is for there to be eternal peace in this world," I quickly said, wanting to sit back down, away from the patronizing gazes of my classmates, but the old hag gestured for me to remain standing.

"I'd like you be more specific, Fujikawa. Eternal peace? What do you mean by that, dear?"

I wanted to scream, but I fought it with a short little cough, smiling through gritted teeth, "Well, you know...no more bullying, animal cruelty, war, violence, crime, etc. The usual. I'm not trying to say anything bigger than that."

"Well, that's a lovely wish, Fujikawa. NEXT."

XXX

Home economics class. I sighed, sitting down on one of the wobbly stools in front of a dusty counter, throwing my bag to the ground. This year didn't seem too promising already.

"Fujikawa, right? Mind if I sit here?" a calm voice brought me back to reality. And it belonged to none other than Sohma Hatori.

Well, he didn't seem like an awful person. I shrugged, scooting over so he would have a bit more room on the counter.

"So, world peace, huh? That's very ambitious of you," he spoke quietly so that only I could here above our chattering classmates.

I scowled at him, retaliating, "What about you being a doctor? That's pretty ambitious, too."

"That's different, though," he said mildly, pushing his dark bangs out of his face. "It's what I'm supposed to be."

I didn't even want to ponder what he meant by that, only resting my elbows on the counter, "Whatever. You know as well as I that that was only a lie."

"So you don't want eternal peace for the world?"

"No, it's not like that...it's just impossible. There's always going to be criminals in the world," I answered tiredly, pissed off by his questions. "Why are you asking me this, anyways?"

"No reason. You just seem like an interesting person." He shrugged, rolling up the sleeves of his school uniform as bowls of hot rice were passed around the room.

"Give me a break. I'm pretty much the dullest person in existence, Sohma."

He remained silent as a plate of dried and salted seaweed was placed in front of us, wiping his hand on a worn rag before patting a handful of rice into an oval shape.

I reached for a dried plum, rolling it in my fingertips, before sneakily popping into my mouth. The tangy sweet taste lingered on my tongue, and I closed my eyes.

I knew what I wanted more than world peace.

But that didn't mean I was going to tell anyone that.


	2. Chapter 2- Pretty Sure

Dozens of hormonal teenagers sweating their asses off in front of a teacher. A class that was actually _graded. _

In other words_...physical education._

I had just about zero athletic ability. And it didn't help that the uniforms were always slutty, and that I hated just about every girl who set foot in every single designer perfume-filled locker room.

Inside of the unspeakable hell, I glared at the dangerously low v-necked white shirt with the crimson collar, not to mention the short-shorts that looked more like underwear. Didn't I order the size that was way too big for me?

"Anything wrong, sweetheart?" a tall, curvy brunette asked me in a voice dripping with candy-coated sweetness, applying a layer of heavily-scented lip gloss.

"None at all. Sorry." I flashed her a quick smile, clutching my pile of clothes and running behind a tower of gym lockers so I could actually change in privacy.

I sighed, squeezing my eyes shut as pulled on the stupid uniform, ripping the clothespins off of the sailor suit and pinning them to the back of the sluttish v-neck, so at least I was decently covered up.

"Your figure isn't particularly bad, but it could definitely use some growth in the future! Of course, compared to the other lovely ladies in here-"

I let out a squeak of surprise, gaping at Shigure. "HOLY SHIT! HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET IN HERE?!"

"This is just my job. I'm doing research for my future novels," he laughed, bracing his hands in surrender. "I thought that I mentioned that earlier-"

"What, do you write porn or something?" I retorted angrily, fighting the heated feeling in my cheeks. "_Get the fuck out!_"

There were a couple of murmurs from the other girls changing in the locker room, and a couple of them peeked around the corner. As soon as they spotted the intruder bastard leaning casually against the tower of lockers, they shrieked, capturing the attention of the other girls. _Oh shit._

"OMIGOD, WHY ARE IN HERE?"

"GET OUT OF HERE, YOU PERV!"

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

"BASTARD!"

I sighed, slipping through the crowd of girls that were screaming at the top of their lungs at Shigure, who gulped, eyes pleading me for help. I hesitated, before smirking and giving him a cute wave, leaving the unfortunate loser to suffer hell on earth.

Suddenly, the shrill noise of a whistle sounded through the spacious locker room, shutting everyone up. "What's going on in here?"

"This_ idiot_ snuck in here-" I began, before I was interrupted.

"The door was locked. How did you get in?" the lean female coach narrowed her eyes at a nervous Shigure, who fidgeted and laughed sheepishly.

"Fujikawa let him in!" a bespectacled girl piped up, pointing an accusing finger in my direction. "She was talking to him before we found out that he was in here."

"What the hell are you talking about?!" I hissed, incredulous. "That's not true-"

"Detentions for both of you, Fujikawa. Sohma. Classroom 306 immediately after school," the woman said briskly scrawling something down on her clipboard and shoving pink scraps of paper to me and Shigure. I stared incredulously at the detention slip as she marched out of the locker room, slamming the door behind her.

"Ah, hell," I grumbled, shooting an icy glare at the pervert. "Nice going, Sohma. Now I have a goddamn detention. You couldn't have told the bitch the truth and said that it wasn't my fault that your pervy ass snuck in here?"

"But then it wouldn't have been fun!" he whined, before winking at me. "I don't want to go to detention alone-"

"Idiot," I shook my head, smacking him roughly on the arm.

I hated everyone at this whole fucking high school.

XXX

Lunchtime. The dreaded period of the day. The time where you could see who the popular kids, geeks, loners, and mid-lifers were. When I could see how isolated I was from everyone else.

Not that I had a problem with that. At every single school that I've attended since elementary school, the teachers complained to my parents that I had been uncooperative, anti-social, and that they had a daughter with "special needs"

I was determined for that not to happen again. It hurt me to hear that I needed extra help, as if something was wrong with me.

But I had no clue where the hell to start in my mission of sticking to a group of people that I could hang around and pretend were actually my friends.

I really was hopeless.

Sighing, I sat down and leaned against the thick trunk of a maple tree, pulling out my bento box. Okay, I admitted it. I felt sort of lonely.

I had no clue what I was supposed to do about it. A part of me encouraged me to forget about everything and to just move on with my life. But I just couldn't.

What psycho would want a screw-up like me as their friend anyway? It was pointless, and I'd only disappoint myself further if I actually thought that I had a chance of creating a decent social life. Because I didn't.

If your expectations are high and they aren't even close to being met, it's like jumping off from an airplane without a parachute. And the impact isn't very pleasant.

"So, what's with that sad face?" a loud, showy voice tore me out of my thoughts, and I turned around, searching for the source.

I scowled at him. "What the hell do _you_ want?"

Ayame was standing in front of me, jutting his angular chin in the direction of the abandoned tennis courts, "Shigure and Ha'ri-kun asked me to come get you!"

"And what for?" I scowled, trying to look as intimidating as a skinny sixteen year-old girl possibly could.

"We're inviting you to eat lunch with us, of course!" He placed his hands on his hips, frowning at me.

"I'm honored," I said sarcastically. If I wanted to become friends with someone, it sure as hell wouldn't be these guys. "Out of my sight, bastard."

"You can't honestly believe that gentlemen such as my cousins and I would let a lady like yourself sit alone during lunchtime on her first day of school?" he gasped theatrically, scandalized.

"Well, one of your 'gentlemanly' cousins got me a goddamn detention," I retorted, crossing my arms and looking away. "So go away."

"My dear, I'm afraid that I simply cannot accept your refusal!" Ayame proclaimed loudly, grabbing the attention of practically everyone eating lunch outside, wincing as he grabbed my arm and yanked me upwards. I almost stumbled and would have landed on my sorry ass if he didn't manage to catch me at arms-length a second before I smacked into the ground.

"Let me go!" I hissed, flailing my legs as he attempted to drag me over to where I could see his cousins waiting for us expectantly.

I was slung over his shoulder when his attempt to forcefully drag me to his friends had failed. I tried to kick his back as I smacked him in the back of his head. "Hey! Get off of me! This is illegal! Bastard, you're sexually harassing a girl and you're ignoring me?"

I finally relaxed after my attempts at screaming at him had failed, fulling resigning to the disappointing fact that he wasn't going to give it up. But I guess it wouldn't hurt if I was seen with them a couple of times. Maybe my parents and teachers would think that I actually had a couple of friends. And I could fool them into thinking that I didn't need psychiatric help.

Okay, Sukochi. You can do this. You can use the innocent boys to get what you want. Be nice to them, sweetheart.

I was finally placed on the park bench, right next to a quiet Hatori. "Hello, Fujikawa-san."

"Sohma." I acknowledged stiffly, brushing a couple of grains of rice off of my skirt as I sighed in a relief at the realization that my bento box hadn't been terriblt shaken up after the ordeal.

"Hey, Fujikawa-chan!" Shigure whined, leaning over Hatori to poke me on the shoulder. "It's too confusing if you just call us all 'Sohma'. I can never tell who you're talking to!"

"I don't mind if she calls us by our first names!" Ayame piped up, taking an enthusiastic bite out of his sashimi.

"But _I_ do," I grumbled. _Remember, you're only pretending to be friends with them._

Pointing at Hatori, Shigure, and Ayame in turn, I stated, "Sohma #1, Sohma #2, and Sohma #3. That's as affectionate as I'll get."

"So, step two!" Shigure cheered, biting into his dumplings. "Now you have to tell us even more about yourself! Weird fetishes? Food preferences? Got any siblings? Where do you live?"

My heart contracted at the word "siblings". How was I supposed to answer that? I wasn't going to consider Kiyomi and my half-brother Haku as "siblings".

And I definitely didn't want to tell them about Daichi.

I decided to casually step around that question, "Well...fetishes. I like science fantasy and drama mangas..erm, salmon in my sushi, tofu in miso soup...uh...and I have a fondness for stuffed animals and American chocolate. Oh, and where I live...less than a mile away from here."

"You seem to be an interesting person," Hatori remarked, and by this tone of voice, I knew that he had realized of the way that I had avoided one of the questions. Why did he have to be so damn observant? I couldn't help but feel like his eyes were boring into my soul.

"Meh," I shrugged as casually as I could, wanting to change the subject immediately.

Even though I wasn't particularly interested in their personal lives, I felt obligated to ask, since I was playing along with their delusion that we were now "friends", "So...what about you guys?"

"Us? Grand nobles from the royal house of Sohma, a family of the purest of beings, with ancestry dating back to the Edo period!" Ayame exclaimed, a hand pressed to his heart, lunch seemingly forgotten.

"The three of us live with our family in an estate nearby," Hatori added calmly, shooting his friend an icy look. "A couple of miles away."

"We should show you are estate sometime!" Shigure waggled his eyebrows, but pouted when the serious boy swatted him on the shoulders.

"Shigure, don't act like an idiot. We're not going to be doing that anytime soon. And I doubt that Fujikawa-san's going to trust you since you got her a detention." Hatori gave him a slightly-urgent look, and Shigure nodded, as if he got some strange message I couldn't understand.

"Definitely." I nodded vigorously. Actually, I couldn't trust any of them, really. Hatori gave me a bad feeling, and the other two were just...indescribable. "How long's detention anyways?"

"Ranging anywhere from fifteen minutes to an hour, based on the severity of the offence. Check the slip. It probably should say how long you two have to stay," Ayame nudged Shigure with his elbow, prompting him to sift through the messy contents of his bag for the detention slip.

I pulled the slightly-crumbled piece of paper out of my pocket, squinting to read the handwriting, before groaning, "Great. A goddamn half hour."

"Mine's the same." Shigure slapped a hand to his forehead.

"Which is why _you_ won't sneak into the locker room again." Hatori gave him a sideways glance, obviously displeased.

"I can't promise that, Ha'ri-kun." The boy winked, wagging his finger at him. "The call of all of those beautiful ladies in that sacred place tempt me."

"Fine. Act as stupid as you want. Just don't drag someone else into it next time," he sighed, giving up before turning to me. "We'll walk you home if you want, Fujikawa-san. I'm sorry about your detention."

I hesitated for a moment, wondering if it was a good idea. Well, if I told my parents that I'd made "friends" and they walked me home, that would give me an excuse for getting home a half an hour late and I wouldn't have to tell them that I'd gotten a detention. And I'd get bonus points for if they thought that I'd acted friendly and didn't scare everyone away with my antisocial attitude, "Okay, fine. Just keep Sohma #2 away, Sohma #3."

If I didn't know better, I would have thought that a smile was teasing the corners of his lips.

XXX

"At last, sweet, sweet freedom!" Shigure cried dramatically as he rushed outside into the sunset, collapsing onto the sidewalk and kissing the ground.

"It was your fault that we were in there in the first place," I deadpanned, watching as he dramatically keeled over, pretending to choke.

The detention was bearable, I suppose, but the minutes seemed to drag by as I sat in a desk near the back of an empty classroom with an obviously-displeased teacher. Oh, and Shigure. I bet we were the first students in Kaibara history to get a detention within the first three hours of school. Yay for us.

"She has a point," Hatori agreed, before gesturing to the street in front of the high school. "So, to your house? We don't want you to get home too late."

"Are you sure that you guys wanna do this?" I raised an eyebrow_. _"I don't mind if you just leave, I'll get home on my own-"

"But there are_ rapists_ out there!" Shigure made a face as he stood up, before creepily waving his fingers in my face.

Ayame nodded, adding, "Rapists that prey on vulnerable, beautiful young ladies like yourself in the dead of the night-"

"_Rapists_?" I asked incredulously.

"Of course! What kind of place in Tokyo _doesn't_ have rapists?"

"Don't say that like it's a good thing!"

"Don't scare her," Hatori reprimanded his cousins, before bowing his head in my direction. "I'd recommend that you ignore what they're saying. Shigure's the closest thing we have to a rapist."

"Ha'ri-kun, you _know_ that that's not true!" he whined, swatting his friend's arm.

"Somehow, that's not hard to believe." I grinned half-heartedly, locking eyes with Hatori for a brief moment, "Pervert."

"Well, I can't deny_ that!_" The bastard batted his eyes at me, before laughing.

"It's not something to be proud of." Hatori eyed him seriously, narrowing his olive green eyes.

"Why don't we stop by a cafe?" Shigure suggested cheerfully, changing the subject quickly as he bounced up and down. "There's a lovely one a couple of blocks from here, The Mochi! We stop by there all the time!"

"It's Shigure's treat, of course," the green-eyed boy interrupted his cousin, eyes flickering lazily to him for a moment. "Unless Fujikawa-san wants to go home."

Stopping by a cafe with a trio of friends that I'd just met and was only pretending to be friendly with was just taking it a bit too far. I gulped, before lying smoothly, "Actually, yes. I should probably go home. My parents told me that they didn't want me to come home too late...for a nice family dinner, so I guess I-_we_ should probably get going. Thanks, though. I'll steal your money another time."

"Strict parents, huh?" Shigure bobbed his head up and down sympathetically, seeming to buy my "eating-dinner-with-family" excuse. "Yeah. I know the feeling. Alright, to your house we go!"

He imitated the sound of an airplane as he rushed forward, Ayame chasing him.

The four of us started walking down the street, passing the shops, restaurants, and houses in the not terribly-crowded district of Tokyo. It was rush hour, so the streets were filled with taxis and cars rushing home from work. The sun was also setting over the horizon, staining the clouds a pinkish-orange color.

Businessmen on their cellphones passed us by, along with girls on shopping sprees since the school day was over, mothers pushing strollers with excitable toddlers inside, and boys and girls simply meandering around the city.

I head a whimper at my feet, and as I looked down as a a stray dog that had a coat of tan-brown fur pawed at my shoes. Shigure's eyes widened, before he knelt down on the pavement to tickle the canine's velvet-y ears. The dog whined in pleasure, before laying on its back and allowing him to stroke the slightly-pink stomach.

"Looks like _someone_ finally likes you, Shigure," I said sarcastically, crouching down to watch as he played with the dog.

"Hey, everyone loves me!" He paused for a moment to stick his tongue defiantly at me, before he resumed petting the dog.

"Shigure has a...thing for dogs. The only thing that he's good at is getting them to like him. His family and I are convinced that that's his only chance for a job in life." Hatori leaned against the brick wall of a building, completely serious.

"Hey, then there's tons of options for me! Stop saying that like it's a bad thing! I could be a vet, or a worker in an animal shelter-"

"Or in a circus!" Ayame proclaimed happily, licking an ice cream cone he had chosen to purchase from a street vendor on our way to my neighborhood. "Those costumes are absolutely divine, by the way, Shigure-kun. I absolutely _envy_ you-"

"Don't worry, Aya," Shigure laughed in mock surrender, winking at his friend. "I won't steal your circus position from you. I have other ambitions."

"Are you talking about your 'ambition' to write porn?" I snickered to myself, giving the dog a pat on its very fluffy head.

"It's not _porn_!" he insisted stubbornly, cradling the stray in his arms. "They're deep, heart-wrenching, moving romance novels following dramatic teen relationships, mid-life complications, and-"

"_Say_ we get going," Hatori checked his watch, straightening up from his casual position leaning against the wall. "It's getting late. How far are we from your house?

"A couple of minutes and we should probably be there." I leapt to my feet, before stretching my back. "I guess we have to say good-bye to your little friend. Sohma #2."

He looked sadly at the stray dog, whose tongue was hanging out, tail wagging, and placed him on the ground. "Sorry, buddy. I have to go now."

As if the canine understood, it whimpered, giving Shigure a whiskery kiss, before walking dejectedly away, tail between its legs.

"You have a really weird connection with dogs," I observed, watching as it disappeared into an alleyway, before shaking the suspicious feeling away and continuing to walk in the direction of my house. "But that's pretty cool."

"It's not terribly surprising," Shigure laughed joyfully as he threw an arm around Ayame. "I'm just too lovable, aren't I, Aya-kun?"

"Of course you are, Shigure-kun! It's impossible for anyone but I to be as fabulous as you are-"

"That is one of the most heart-touching lines I've ever heard, Aya! Give me more, my soul mate-"

"'We must endeavor through the obstacles of life, fighting past all of the perilous challenges that may be thrown in our way-"

"Well, this is it," I stated loudly, interrupting their playful banter as the trio and I stood in front of my decently-sized house. "Thanks for taking me home to save me from...erm...the rapists?"

"They're all screwed-up pedophiles!" Shigure let out a high cackle as if imitating a typical villainous mastermind. "Lock your doors at night-"

"Thanks a lot for that," I said sarcastically and rolled my eyes, before I opened the gate and started down the path that led to my front porch. "See you tomorrow, guys."

I told myself that I really didn't like them. I was using them so that I wouldn't get in trouble with my family. I didn't actually want to see them again. I didn't actually care about them, or Shigure's future profession, or how unearthly-talented he was with getting dogs to love him, or their ancient family that Ayame claimed dated back to the Edo period, or how Hatori seemed mysterious and oddly perceptive, or any other goddamn thing about them...

Right?

I was pretty sure that that was how I felt.


	3. Chapter 3- Satisfying My Curiosity

I slipped inside the house, glancing back at the boys for a moment. Shaking my head, I dropped my schoolbag on the ground. The light was on in the kitchen, so I guess they were waiting for me to start dinner. Tossing my shoes off, I peeked my head into the dining room, muttering as I went to my vacant seat at the table, "Sorry. "

My mother gave me a bright smile as she pushed a plate of food at me. "Sukochi, we were waiting for you. You're quite a bit late."

"Yeah, that's why I said 'sorry'." I avoided her gaze, and the words slithered out before I could stop them. "Want me to say it again?"

My stepfather pursed his lips, and I knew he wanted to say something but didn't want to risk pissing me off. Kiyomi, however, being the stupid brat that she was, failed to sense my mood, swallowing an egg roll. "How was your day, nee-chan?"

"Please don't call me that!" I snapped, for the second time that day. My mother raised an eyebrow at me, so I rolled my eyes and gritted my teeth. "It was _fine_, Kiyomi. How was yours?"

"Oh, the middle school is great!" she said happily, and I felt a twinge of an annoyance since I got the feelingthat she was showing off to our parents. "There are some really great teachers and my classmates seem like good people, so I think I'll do fine. Anything to report on your end?"

Inner translation: have you stopped acting like a bitch and made friends already?

I didn't really know how to answer to that.

"I have a strict teacher," I finally forced out after a pause of awkwardness, repressing my urge to throttle her. "Plus I met a couple of nice people today. They walked me home after school, so...yeah. Hence me being late."

My two year-old half-brother made a cooing noise and burped. My mother ruffled his hair, spooning rice into his mouth, before smiling at me. "Oh, really? So you made friends? Who are they?"

"Just a couple of boys." I shrugged, trying to sound casual, even though I was sort of irritated at how surprised she seemed at my revelation that a couple of friends had walked me home. It's as if she had given up hope on me for amounting to something at Kaibara.

But I'd given up on myself a long time ago, so why should I have cared about what_ they_ thought?

My stepfather stopped chewing, before looking at me, "_Boys?_"

"Yeah," I nodded, suddenly feeling aggravated and unable to repress my heated response. "Got a problem with that, _Daddy?_"

"Sukochi!" my mother scolded, giving me an urgent look. But I ignored her, being too pissed off to care about the consequences.

My stepfather was about to open his mouth, but I cut him off, "Actually, I shouldn't even ask. Because I don't give a _damn_ whether you have a stupid problem with it or not. I'm sick of you trying to tell me what's right and what's wrong when I'm doing my best. You wanted me to make friends, right? I finally did, and of course you're disappointed. What, do you want me to find a flying pig or something? Some parents _you_ are."

He stood up, banging his hand on the table, "That's enough. You're being too sensitive. I wasn't going to say that I had a problem with it, okay? You have to stop exploding at us. We're trying, Sukochi, but you won't let us help you-"

"Are you going to drag me to a mental institution now?" I screamed, smacking my fork down on my plate. "So you can't handle me? I can't handle you either. Why am I still here? Why didn't you dump me onto the street when I was eleven? Why-?"

"Stop," my mother said harshly as my stepfather was about to retort. "Sukochi, don't say another word like that. I'd never do that to you. Your stepfather and I love-"

"Love me?" I let out a maniacal laugh, at the height of my anger. "Love me, my ass! Did that really just come out of your mouth? Are my ears working properly? The day Daichi died was the day you stopped caring about me and Dad. Do you expect me to trust you ever again? You don't even trust me."

There was only silence. Even Haku had shut up.

My mother's eyes widened and she clenched her fists. I finally calmed down, breathing heavily. What the hell did I just say? Why the hell did I just do that?

When she finally spoke, it was softly. "Please...please don't mention that ever again."

_It hurts me, too. I'm so sorry, Daichi._

"If you keep acting like this, your mother and I _will_ stop trusting you," my stepfather said sternly, narrowing his hazel eyes at me. "Sukochi-"

"No, she's right," my mother looked sadly down at her plate. "I don't trust her anymore. And I'm so sorry for that. I wish that things hadn't fallen apart."

Kiyomi fidgeted slightly, before clearing her throat and saying in a timid voice, "Um, can we stop talking about this?"

She shook her head from her daze, before giving her and Haku a tired smile, "Of course, dear. Sorry. You three kids are excused. Have a good night, guys."

I stood up abruptly and once I had exited the confines of the dining room, I sprinted to my room and locked the door. Running to my bed, I flopped facedown into my pillow, exhausted and frustrated.

I was so stupid. I couldn't do anything right. Damn my stupid temper. Damn my parents. Damn school. Damn the Sohmas. Damn it. damn it, damn it...

Damn Daichi for dying and leaving me alone.

XXX

Hatori's POV

As soon as I reached the privacy of my bedroom in the tiny house I shared with my two cousins, I flopped onto my bed, rolling onto my side. First day of our second-year in high school had gone on without a hitch. That was some improvement from last year.

But there was still Fujikawa. What was up with that girl that made her seem so interesting?

I closed my eyes as I heard a knock on the door. Sighing, I reluctantly hopped to my feet and creaked open the door.

It was Shigure, towel wrapped around his neck, hair wet, and wearing his preferred kimono. He gave me a minty smile, inviting himself into my room and sitting on the edge of my bed.

There was a moment of silence where I couldn't figure out what he wanted, merely waiting for him to say something.

And finally, he did. "So, you're not worried at all, Ha'ri?"

"Of course I am." I began pacing around the room, giving him a sideways look. "Just be careful and don't do anything stupid. Akito told us that she would withdraw us from Kaibara immediately if someone accidentally found out. And trust me, I want to go to a normal co-ed school as much as you two do. Plus I don't like it when it's my responsibility to clean up the mess. You saw how Ayame almost transformed when he was dragging her over to eat lunch. So I'd recommend that you don't make that same mistake."

"I _know_ that you're interested in her, Ha'ri." Shigure swung his legs back and forth, a smirk teasing his lips.

"In what way?" I asked him, irritated that he had changed the subject. This was serious business. I hated it when I had to erase those memories. I'd already done it at least a dozen times.

"Not romantically. I'm not trying to say_that_," he amended, examining his nails idly. "but I know that you're very curious about Fujikawa Sukochi."

"Alright, fine," I admitted. "Maybe I am. You can tell as well as I can that she's definitely hiding something."

"A bit like we are, hm? What about _our_ little secret?" my cousin teased, poking me in the ribs. "And so, you're trying to find out her secret while protecting our own. So if she tells us about her secret, we're not allowed to share even a bit of our own? That seems a bit unfair for Fujikawa-chan."

"Her secret won't be like ours. I just want to know what it is." The way that he was hinting at something really annoyed me. Shigure was always like that- first an idiot, and then oddly perceptive.

"How do you know that her secret isn't like ours? For all you know, it could be very similar. Don't get cocky and act like you know everything, my dear cousin." Shigure winked, mock-reprimanding me.

"It's not a matter of getting cocky. Okay, fine, maybe she has a secret like ours. That doesn't change the fact that you_ also_ want to find out what she's hiding." I crossed my arms, watching as he pulled out a chess set from one of my organized drawers, opening the frayed cardboard box and assembling the intricately-carved playing pieces.

"Well, as much as I don't like to admit it...yes. I''ll choose to join your side in this situation. I'll help you find out what she's hiding. This seems like a bit of a game, doesn't it? We both have to satisfy our curiosity- although it's not like we're using her or anything. She's a half-way charming girl. Anyways...so, is it a deal, Ha'ri? Let me in on your little investigation." Shigure tossed the white queen, the most powerful piece in the game, up and down. "So, who do you think is our opponent in this game, Ha'ri?"

"If thereeven_ is_ one." I gave him a calculated look. "It's either fate or Akito. Fate if she finds out about the curse, Akito if she ends up hurting Fujikawa after finding out that we've made friends with a girl. Our orders were to keep to ourselves and not socialize with anyone- especially girls."

Shigure let out a humorless laugh, rolling the queen between his pale fingertips, before closing his palm. "Then it looks like we have to protect our queen. Are you with me, Sohma Hatori?"

He gave me a mysterious smirk, before leaving the room, chuckling quietly to himself. I never could figure out what was going on in that mind of his. He never did anything if there wasn't anything in it for him. But neither did I, really.

I sighed, banging my palm to my forehead, before pulling my laptop out of my backpack. Logging on and hearing the sound that signalled that my computer had turned on completely, I pulled up a new tab, before typing in in the search bar "Fujikawa Sukochi, Tokyo". The name didn't seem particularly common.

The results immediately popped up- an illegal site for private records. I clicked on the URL, face contorting in concentration.

_Picture unavailable. We apologize for this inconvenience._

_Full name: Fujikawa Sukochi_

_Age: 16_

_Birthday: February 7th_

_Blood Type: O_

I impatiently scrolled down further as useless information kept on popping up. Knowing what her blood type was wasn't useful in this situation.

Finally:

_Known Family Members-_

_Fujikawa Shiro (father) (deceased)_

_Nakashima Ayako (mother) (deceased)_

_Said person is currently living in the care of foster parents. _

__So her parents were dead and she had foster parents? Would that explain why she acted that way to everyone? I created another page, before quickly typing in: "Fujikawa Shiro and Nakashima Ayako".

Numerous online articles popped up, all of which had similar headlines: _Husband murders wife, before killing himself in front of his seven year-old daughter._

That was more than slightly shocking. It made sense. I guess I knew what she was hiding now.

But that didn't mean that I didn't want to figure her out. The way that she seemed so undeniably...complex. And I wanted to know what went on inside of her head of such a seemingly-normal person.

To tell the truth, she...sort of reminded me of Akito. And I guess I wanted to know what Akito was thinking, too. But I couldn't exactly confront my "God" about what her brooding thoughts were like. I'd probably get thrown in solitary confinement, with no one but that cat that she hated so much for company. So Fujikawa was the next best choice. Probably more interesting, too.

I stared at the chess board I never bothered to put back; the king, queen, knights, bishops, rooks, and pawns, all entirely stationary for the moment. What's my next move? What decision would I make next?

Shigure really did understand me better than anyone.

XXX

Author's Note:

Clarification time~

Just for those of you who haven't read the manga...

AKITO IS A WOMAN.

AKITO IS A WOMAN.

So I don't want anyone flaming me and saying that I'm wrong. Look on the wiki. Ask a friend who actually has read the manga. Just don't bother me about it.

Alright, don't forget to comment and vote and fan and...shtuffs. o3o


	4. Chapter 4- Secrets

Sukochi's POV

I woke up feeling absolutely miserable, curled up into a ball on the very edge of my mattress. Sitting up as best as I could, I pulled the curtain away from the window. Wincing as a beam of sunlight hit me squarely in the face, I could clearly see that the weather was going to absolutely fucking gorgeous.

Damn it. Damn it all.

I laid myself slowly back down on my pillow, about to relish a couple more minutes of peace and quiet, when I heard a screech from Kiyomi. "NEE-CHAN! BREAKFAST!"

"DON'T CALL ME NEE-CHAN!" I hollered back, anger from the day before returning.

Letting out a huff of frustration, I reluctantly tumbled out of bed and ran a hairbrush through my tangled mess of a bedhead. I yawned and stretched my stiff shoulders, before storming downstairs in my pajamas. I really didn't want to eat breakfast with them, after last night's dramatic episode. Maybe I could just slip out of the house without them noticing...

My thoughts were interrupted when a loud growl was emitted from my stomach. No such luck. If I wanted to live, my hunger definitely couldn't wait until the lunch period. Damn it.

I shuffled groggily into the kitchen, and my mother gave me a half-hearted smile, before flitting her eyes away. The seat next to her was empty, so I guess my stepdad had already left for work. Haku was still dozing peacefully in his room; I knew that his usual wake-up time was around ten.

"Good morning," I forced out, sitting down at my seat and quickly shoveling rice porridge down my throat. The awkwardness between us was almost tangible, and it was one of those moments where you could even hear the clock ticking on the kitchen wall.

"So, what are your boyfriends like?" Kiyomi chirped suddenly, not quite shattering the tension, but distracting me all the same. "Do you think that they're cute? Do you have a picture?"

"_Boyfriends?_" I looked at her, incredulous. "Excuse me? Are you accusing _me_ of being a _slut?_"

"Sukochi!" my mother snapped, tearing herself away from the kitchen counter that had been the object of her dazed attention for the past couple of moments. "Language!"

"She's the one who's obviously calling me a whore!" I fired back after taking a swig out of my glass of milk. "They're _not_ my boyfriends. I've known them for one day. So get real, Kiyomi."

Fuming silently, I stood up and pushed my chair inside, having finished my breakfast. I mumbled under my breath, "I'll see you guys later."

Way to go, Sukochi. You can't even deal with a stupid comment from your bratty sister.

XXX

Hatori's POV

"Good morning, Fujikawa," I said quietly as I spotted her entering the school campus, following Shigure and Ayame as they enthusiastically rushed to catch up with her.

Shigure gave her a bright smile, his arm wrapped around Ayame's shoulder. "Hiya, Fujikawa-chan!"

"Hi," she responded stiffly, exchanging a glance with me for a moment.

My eyes flickered to Shigure in annoyance for a moment- how could he hide what he was really feeling so well? And how could he read me so easily? I could never figure out how he managed to hide himself so well under that happy face when he was really a mastermind.

He leaned over and nudged me in the ribs, before whispering almost inaudibly, "I trust you want to talk to the young lady? Leave it to me."

Shigure shot Ayame a dazzling smile, flicking on his I'm-pretending-to-be-an-idiot switch, "Hey, I just had an idea! Want to do a little prank on the darling little first-years before classes begin! We have about ten minutes~!"

"Ooh, really?" Ayame snapped to attention, before slapping a hand onto Shigure's shoulder and winking charmingly at him. "Of course I would."

"Alright, let's go, partner!" My cousin snatched his friend's wrist, before taking off at top speed towards the entrance of the school, successfully leaving the two of us alone.

"So, how are you today?" I continued in a conversational tone, as if that hadn't just happened.

She shrugged, fidgeting slightly with her hands, eyes glued to my cousins' retreating backs. "Yeah, I'm fine. What about you?"

I narrowed my eyes slightly, before saying with a hint of sarcasm, "Same with me."

She scowled at me, avoiding my gaze as she brushed her bangs out of her face, "What are you trying to say?"

Now, how was I supposed to confront her about what I just read about her on the Internet without sounding like Shigure? I had to find out whether the information was valid- the web was the web after all.

"I think I've figured out something," I said carefully, glancing sideways at the confused look that was etched on her face. "I decided to search you up yesterday, and-"

"What the _hell_?" she interrupted, voice mingled with confusion and surprise. "You Googled me? What, are you a stalker-"

"Not as much of a stalker as curious," I added quickly, cutting her off as she was about to open her mouth. "And...um...I heard about what happened to your family."

There. That was the nicest way to put it. It was probably a touchy subject for someone who saw her parents die right before her eyes, and I wasn't going to risk making her upset. Who knew how someone like her would react?

There was a pause, her eyes widening in surprise.

She let out a cough, before laughing sheepishly- which was not at all what I expected from her. For the love of God, her parents had died right before her eyes and she was taking this lightly?

"Oh, right. That. Right, my family. It's okay. No need to apologize."

"Oh, really?" I raised an eyebrow as I noticed her cringe slightly; maybe what had happened to her parents bothered her more than she'd like to admit.

Fujikawa cleared her throat, before narrowing my eyes at me suspiciously, "But I really don't like that you were trying to get information about me from the Internet. Where did you find out about it?"

I shrugged carelessly, frustrated that she cared more about where I got the information than the fact that I was confronting her about it. "Just some website with records of every person in Tokyo."

"Oh, I didn't know that there was something like that."

"Well, _now_ you do."

Awkward pause.

"So, are you going to say anything else? Why did you want to talk to me about this?" she asked, arching an eyebrow at me, before yawning nonchalantly.

Well, mission failed. Maybe there was something else about her that I didn't know. But if this wasn't her big secret, what _was?_ What had made her the person she was?

I just had to find out. Patience, Hatori. These things are what you're best at.

"Well, I just wanted to see if you wanted to talk about it with anyone. Is it bothering you?"

"I don't even get why you'd want to know," Fujikawa snapped suddenly. "I mean, you barely know me and I barely know you. We met yesterday. I actually don't understand why you guys want to be my friends- I mean, I'm not a very pleasant person, am I?"

I really didn't know how to respond to that. So I shut my mouth.

"Exactly," she kept on rambling. "Just what I thought. You don't need to know everything about me. I don't need to know everything about you. There are certain things I want to ask you, too. But I'm not going to because I have some decency. You literally Googled me- how disrespectful is that? You're invading my privacy with your dumb questions. I don't understand you. So please stay out of my business, and I'll stay out of yours."

Fujikawa shoved me away, before almost sprinting ahead, leaving me behind to just stand there with a blank face. I couldn't imagine how this must have looked to everyone who was staring at me right now. Maybe she was more trouble than she was worth.

"Hey, did you reject her or something?" One of my classmates sidled up next to me, snickering and pointing at her. "She's that weird girl from yesterday, right? The one that everyone's spreading rumors about?"

"Rumors?" I raised an eyebrow quizzically at him, before saying in a cool voice. "No, I wasn't rejecting her. I just said something that made her mad, so she walked away. It's not something you should worry about."

"Why are you hanging around her, anyways? There are about a dozen girls that would love to be in her position- spending time with you, that is." He smirked slyly, a skip in his step.

"Oh, she's just someone Shigure and Ayame felt sorry for. So they've been acting friendly towards her." I didn't feel particularly honorable saying it, but I really didn't want anything fishy being passed around the school.

"Oh, really? That's it?" He pouted, seeming rather disappointed.

"I'm so touched that you're interested in my personal life, but it's really not necessary. Put your gossipy nose in someone else's business," I said coldly, brushing him off.

I really didn't need anyone else's input at this point. Sure, I probably looked like I was flirting with the new girl, and maybe I didn't really like her as a person. But as weird as it sounded...she fascinated me. Like Akito did, but I probably wasn't allowed to be fascinated in Akito. More like awed, but that wasn't how I felt for my "God". Actually, I was sort of intimidated by Akito, as the rest of my family members, minus Shigure and Kureno, were.

It was dangerous, being so close to a girl. I recognized that. And being the most cautious out of my family members, I felt like I was betraying the Sohmas.

I reminded myself that the goal wasn't exactly to be her friend- maybe on the outside, but not on the inside. Gain her trust and figure her out. I wasn't planning on letting her find out about our secret- she was going to stay far, far away from that. As long as Shigure and Ayame kept their cover, we would be perfectly fine and the curse would be safe.

She was going to think that we were halfway-normal teenage boys, minus a couple of my cousins' antics that made us seem strange and slightly-insane.

Funny how things usually don't go the way you plan.

XXX

"So, how did the prank go?" I plopped myself down onto the bench at our usual lunchtime spot, before digging into my bowl of fried noodles, trying to sound interested.

Shigure made a face, whining, "The teacher saw us and told us to stop loitering around the first-years and that we should get to our classes. So our mission failed."

"Well, what did you expect? The teachers here have quite the reputation." I waved my hand dismissively, before looking around. "So where did Fujikawa-san go?"

"Ooh, so does our wittle Ha'ri have a crush on wittle Fujikawa!" Shigure gushed in a baby voice, leaning forward as he pinched his chopsticks in my direction.

"Shut up, idiot." I rolled my eyes. "I'm not stupid like you. I was just wondering where she was."

"Well, she hasn't spoken to me all day," he pondered thoughtfully, stroking an invisible beard. "Did you say something to her this morning? Of course, you can't understand a woman's heart-"

"That has nothing to do with it," I interrupted him. "So you're saying that if you say something nice to her that you'll get points with her?"

"Well, I haven't made her hate me yet!"

"What about that detention?"

"...that wasn't a big thing! I'm sure she's over it by now!"

"Yeah, right."

"Whatever. Why don't you go talk to her, Ha'ri? You're the dashing gentlemen. We're right behind you, cuz!" Shigure said hastily, gulping down a mouthful of miso soup and waving me over to where she was leaning on a maple tree. "Go on, win the girl over~"

"Please don't put it that way," I sighed, before standing up reluctantly and walking over to where she was.

"What the hell do you want, Sohma?" she growled as soon as she saw me approach her, knees pressed to her chest as she slouched even farther down the trunk of the tree.

"Alright, maybe I shouldn't have asked so many questions." I ignored her, speaking briskly. "And I'm sorry. You won't tell me, so I won't press it. If you want, we can talk about it sometime later. I won't ask you too many questions, and you won't ask me too many questions. We'll be perfectly oblivious to each other's secrets, okay?"

Complete lie, complete lie, complete lie...

She thought about it for a moment, before she cracked a reluctant grin, holding her hand out to me. "Alright, fine. Actually, you weirdos aren't so bad."

"I'm not sure whether or not to take that as a compliment or an insult."

XXX

Author's Note:

For those of you who don't know, this is a collab with my best friend, and uploaded from my Wattpad account under the same username. Unfortunately, she doesn't have an account on this lovely site, so it's difficult to give her much credit. Look for NatsuAki on Wattpad, though. Online, she likes to be referred to as "Shaddie", while I'm most well-known under the name "Alice".

Shaddie: /Le in corner playing Tetris/

Alice: AMG, THOSE BLOCKS ARE SO PRETTYFUL. LIKE RAINBOW FARTS.

Shaddie: /Slaps with bag of jellybeans, not looking away from the screen/ HUSH, CHILD.

Alice: The world is your mushroom, the world is your mushroom~

Shaddie: /Retreats to corner, leaving downloads on screen/ Yes, children. NOW I MUST GO, MY FEELS NEED ME. (coughHetapocalypseFeelscough)

Alice: What the two of us derps want to say is thanks for supporting this story, but I think you got some pointless trolling instead...Disclaimer time, Shaddie~

Shaddie: Yeah... anyways, you people would be pretty stupid to believe that we own Fruits Basket. Who makes fanfiction off of their own manga?

Alice: Those who are desperate. And are deprived of mushrooms.

Shaddie: ...Touche Kabu-I MEAN ALICE. Touche. /Kimimaro's Abridged voice/

Alice: Continue to be awesome, my mushrooms, and leave reviews. WE LIVE FOR REVIEWS.


	5. Chapter 5- No More Love

Just want you guys to know that there isn't a legit reason for writing this- just that we want to slow down the pacing of this story a bit because the next chapter is vewwy significant to the plot. And because we thought that it might be kind of interesting for y'all.

We were sort of stuck on what to do on this chapter, so thankfully Alice had her friend Ai Seikatsu to help us come up with some ideas. Unfortunately, she doesn't have a Wattpad account, but you can find her on. Alice is the beta-reader for Ai's Maid-sama story, Love That Can't Be. Soooo, check it out if you can. :D

XXX

Five years ago...

_"Shouldn't Daichi-kun be back now?" The eleven year-old girl sipped her cup of orange juice, swinging her legs back and forth and glancing at her watch. "It's already a quarter to three." _

_"I'm sure that it's just a bit of traffic," her mother gave her a thin-lipped smile as she chopped up a tuft of chives on a cutting board in preparation for dinner. "Nothing to worry about, Sukochi."_

_"Um...okay." She shrugged certainly, before her thoughts were interrupted by the jazzy love song being emitted from her mother's cellphone._

_Her mother leaned forward to snatch it off the counter, before placing it between her ear and shoulder as she continued her work. "Hello? Hamasaki Reiko here. Who's speaking?" _

_The woman gasped as she dropped the knife, the utensil landing on the wooden cutting board with a loud thunk. "No, no...tell me that this is some kind of joke."_

_The girl's eyes widened as she turned to face her mother. "Mom? What happened? What's wrong? Mom!" _

_She sent a stern look at her daughter, a silent message to keep quiet, before she nodded curtly, voice stony. "Of course. We'll be there as soon as possible. Thanks for letting us know."_

_Reiko slowly disconnected the call, hands shaking ever-so-slightly as she put the phone down. She hesitated for a moment, staring off into the distance, before furiously untying her apron and throwing it onto a dining chair. The woman tossed her cellphone into her purse before snatching it up, heading towards the front door and shooting her daughter an expectant look, "Come on, Sukochi. We have to get going. Now."_

_"Wait, get going where?" the girl demanded, standing up and glaring at her mother. "You still haven't told me what's going on! I want to know what's happening! Did something happen to Daichi? What about Dad? Are they okay-?"_

_"T-they...got into an accident, sweetheart. On the highway. And...," she faltered, voice trembling as she buried her face into her hands._

_"What? And what? Mom!" the girl demanded, watching in horror as a tear slipped from her mother's eye and trickled down her cheek._

_"Your father is injured, but...Daichi..."_

_"Daichi what? Mom,_ just tell me_!" A feeling of dread filled her, and she was completely aware of how her heart rate had doubled in the last couple of miutes. What had happened? What was going on?_

_"The doctors say that he's...he's not going to make it."_

_XXX_

_"I'm sorry about your brother, Fujikawa-chan-"_

_"He was such a nice boy, honey-" _

_"You poor darling-"_

_ "I'm so sorry."_

_The world seemed surreal as she merely stood there in her long-sleeved black dress, holding a rose pink umbrella over her head to block the light drizzle. Yes, she was aware of how utterly cliché it was that it was raining on the day of her brother's funeral. But what control did she have over the stupid weather making her feel more worse than she already did? She hated herself at that moment, more than any other time in her small, insignificant life._

_From what the doctor had said, Daichi had taken a severe blow to the head when a truck transporting fresh produce had crashed into the car from the back, sending the tiny vehicle skidding to the side of the road and striking a patch of particularly hardy trees. There wasn't anything anyone could have done to save him._

Why him? Why not someone else? Why?

_He had his entire life ahead of him. An entire life to spend with_ her_. Friends, family, parties, birthdays, weddings, celebrations, graduations, memories, a wife, children...but that had all been erased in a single moment. Fate had decided that a truck was going to smash into her brother. Fate decided that he was going to die and that he wouldn't be anything more than a memory, a shared life with her merely a washed-out dream. Wasn't that cruel? How could that be fair? How had her perfect life spun so out of control?_

I hate you, God. I hate you so much for doing this to me.

_"I offer you my condolences, Hamasaki-san." A polite man bowed to her mother, hand in hand with a tiny brunette girl about a couple of years younger than yourself. "I'm not sure if you remember me, but I had dinner at your home three years ago. Your husband and I were close friends in college."_

_Her mother blinked away a tear, before giving him a weak smile. "Of course, how could I forget? Kurosawa-san, right? And this is your daughter, Kiyomi-chan. Do you remember her, Sukochi?"_

_The girl gave the younger child a stiff nod, still solemn-faced, lips sealed shut. She didn't want to speak in fear that she'd scream her head off. Her reality was a nightmare that she desperately wanted to awake from, a tragedy unfolding right before her eyes._

_"Katashi wasn't able to make it today, right? That's a shame. Is he alright?"_

_"He's fine. Just a couple of broken ribs and a dislocated shoulder. The doctor wouldn't let him leave the hospital, even though he argued for days. I'm sure you could go and visit him if you wanted."_

_"Ah, that's quite a relief. I'd hate to see anything bad happen to him. However, I suppose losing your son was bad enough. Again, I apologize for your loss, Hamasaki-san. Our prayers are with your son."_

_"That's very kind of you, Kurosawa-san. Our prayers are with your wife and cousin as well."_

_There was a moment of awkward silence where Sukochi determinedly avoided everyone's gazes, fidgeting with her hands as she pushed a muddy clump of grass around with her foot. Everything was just wrong. _Wrong, wrong, wrong.

Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

_"Kiyomi and I have to get going, so I hope to see you three soon. My condolences."_

XXX

Four and half years ago...

_"Shut up and listen to me, Katashi. Your business isn't working out, we're about to get kicked out of the apartment, and what are you doing? Wasting your time. You have to pick yourself up. Or have you forgotten about Sukochi?" her mother's voice was audible to the girl as she curled up in the far corner of her room, cheek pressed to the peeling wallpaper. The paper thin walls of their shared apartment were hardly soundproof. She could even here their neighbor singing out-of-tune opera in the next room._

_Her father's voice retaliated, obviously frustrated and angry, "Shut up and stop yelling at me, Reiko. You think that it's my fault that Daichi's dead, don't you? You think I'm irresponsible for letting him die under my care. But what could I do? Should I have died instead? His death has nothing to do with this. I'm sorry that the business isn't working out, but I'm doing my best-"_

_"But he has everything to do with this! It's affecting Sukochi, it's affecting me, it's affecting everyone around us, so why shouldn't it be affecting you-?"_

_"So you _want_ it to affect me?"_

_"No, what I'm trying to say is... I'm just trying to tell you that we have to move on-"_

_"I can't take a moment to grieve for my son? You can't cut me some slack? I watched him die, Reiko. I dislocated my shoulder. I wasn't able to go to the funeral-"_

_"And you're only feeling sorry for yourself."_

_"So you're not feeling sorry for yourself, too? Don't lie. You cry every day. You barely talk to me anymore. You're not doing anything, either. You're not helping your daughter. Can't you see that she's different now? Don't you know that she's locking herself in her bedroom at night? She won't talk anymore."_

_"Don't you dare give me parenting advice-"_

_"So you're saying that you're better than me? What kind of joke is that? You're not exactly the top-notch mother either-"_

_"Excuse me? What did you just say?" Reiko hissed, voice threatening and barely above a whisper._

_"Don't act all high and mighty, my dear," his voice was dripping with sarcasm, before laughing bitterly. "Wow, we're both really screwed-up, huh?"_

_There was only silence. Sukochi could hear the leaky pipe dripping in the kitchen, the squeak of the mice that chose to nest in a creaky floorboard under her bed._

_"I don't think that this marriage is working out."_

_"Funny, I was about to say that."_

_"Please...just stop it. I don't want to hear anymore."_

_"So now what? A divorce?"_

_Sukochi's heart contracted tightly, squeezing her on the inside. A divorce? Well, hadn't she seen it coming? It was inevitable, and she was stupid for hoping that it would somehow work out. Well, it was...over._

XXX

Four years ago...

_"Bye, dad." She gave him a half-hearted hug around his torso, pressing her face against his collared shirt to take in the scent of his deodorant one last time. Sukochi didn't want to admit that she would miss him after he left; his booming laughter, sarcastic jokes, the way that he used to spend time with her and Daichi._

_"I'm so sorry, Sukochi," he murmured guiltily, responding to the embrace by kissing the top of her head. "I'm so sorry."_

_Another thing in her life had fallen apart. Another damn thing. She didn't want to forgive him. She actually couldn't. All she really wanted to do was lock herself up and throw away the key. So she couldn't love ever again. So her heart wouldn't be broken this way. _

_"So you're never going to see me again?" she mumbled._

_"I wish I could, darling. But I doubt your mother would want that," he laughed humorlessly. "I'll see what I can do. Good luck, Sukochi. I wish you the best. Don't date boys that you're not sure you'll like. Don't be stupid. Get good grades. Be a nice person. All of the garbage that parents usually say to their kids."_

_She nodded slowly, unwinding her arms from him and glancing up at him once last time. Sukochi backed away, watching in a sort of stupor as he picked up his suitcase and opened the door. He glanced back at her one last time, before giving her a weak smile and a little wave. Katashi closed it behind him with a loud thud, leaving her alone in the apartment. _

_Sukochi reached out for a moment, fingers extending towards the door as if she wanted to hold his hand again. However, she retracted them suddenly, disgusted with herself. _No more him. He's not part of your life anymore. No more love. No love for anyone.

_No love for Kurosawa-san, who had begun dating her mother. No love for Kiyomi. No love for her mother, her father, anyone else. She wasn't going to accept the people who had replaced her normal family. They were shallow, stupid, absorbed in their own happiness. She wasn't going to allow anyone else to get close to her ever again. _

No more love, no more love, no more love...

_It was like a mantra, something that she repeated in her head over and over again for the next four years of her bitter, resentful, non-eventful life. _

But that was about to change.

Everything that she had thought she'd known about herself was about to change.


	6. Chapter 6- We Can't Share You

Sukochi's POV

As the first month or so of school passed by, things were still awkward between Hatori and I- and I still couldn't shake the feeling that he was watching me. He'd figured out what happened to Daichi and my parents, and I tried to make it look like it wasn't a big deal at all. Like I didn't care anymore. I wasn't sure whether or not he believed me.

But he never mentioned it ever again, which was a relief. I didn't want him to delve further into my life than he already had, since the Sohmas and I probably spent every single school moment together. They were kind of stupid sometimes, but decent company. They didn't ask too much about me, and I didn't ask too much about them. A normal friendship on the outside.

But something told me that I just couldn't trust them completely- especially Hatori.

Keep your friends at a distance, Sukochi. Don't let them get under your skin.

Shigure, during lunch break, chattered endlessly, "So, I was going grocery shopping, and then the clerk who was at least a dozen years older than me...guess what, guys? Are you listening to me? She was _hitting_ on me! Legit hitting on me! Like batting her eyelashes and complimenting and stuff. Her figure was really nice, and I guess she was pretty, but she really wasn't my type. I'm more for that clueless, cold, hard-to-get type...just like you, Fujikawa-chan!"

I shot him a murderous glare, before sighing in defeat and sipping my can of iced coffee. We were sitting outside in our usual spot, near the tennis courts.

Ayame's eyes were lit up, and he was nodding encouragingly, mouth stuffed with bites of his sandwich

"I told her that someday that she would find someone just as wonderful as yours truly, and not to despair-"

"Of course, my dear cousin, she musn't fret, but I'm positive that no one in the world is more wonderful than you-"

"Oh, Aya, you're _flattering_ me again~"

Hatori yawned bluntly, flipping a page in his textbook in preparation for the test in an hour or so. "Tell me...how much do I care again?"

I stifled a snicker, before snorting. "Why the hell would someone want to hit on you?"

"Maybe being a complete and utter pervert is somewhat appealing," Hatori grumbled under his breath, rolling his olive-green eyes and earning a hurt look from his cousin.

"Ha'ri~" Shigure whined, leaning over to rest his head on said person's shoulder. "Why do you have to be so mean to me-?"

I almost choked on my cup noodles, hastily coughing before retorting sarcastically, "Yes, because you're _so_ charming-"

"Of course! How do you think I've gotten myself a whole ring of admirers? With these boyish charms and stunningly good looks, of course!" Shigure gestured wildly, before sighing contentedly and stroking his cheeks.

"_Ring of admirers_?" I raised an eyebrow at him, before exchanging an exasperated look with Hatori.

"Haven't you noticed them? Tsk, tsk, my dear, I thought you were more perceptive than _that." _He pouted, before his eyes lit up. "Why don't I prove it to you, Fujikawa-chan?"

"Two hundred yen says you can't." I smirked at him, crossing my arms and leaning back onto the back of the bench, yawning.

Hatori was visibly hiding a small smile as he said, "I say five hundred."

One of the popular girls in our class, Tanaka-san, was walking past us, surrounded by a posse of girls that were talking and laughing enthusiastically. I pointed as discreetly as I could at her, trying to restrain a laugh/ "Go on. Seduce her. Show us your boyish charms."

"Of course!" he slicked back his bangs and settled his shoulders confidently, a cocky grin on his face, before striding up to her and resting a finger on her chin. "Oh, Tanaka-chan~"

"What is it?" She gave him an incredulous look, exchanging a typical what-the-hell look with her friends. "Sohma, right?"

I clasped a hand on my mouth, trying to repress the tight feeling in my stomach and from bursting into hysterical laughter.

"I'm so _delighted_ that you remembered my name," he purred before tilting her chin up, cooing flirtatiously. "I must _say_, my dear, you look absolutely_ gorgeous_ in that uniform. It's a _shame_ that that skirt of yours isn't shorter-"

"Y-you pervert!

"OW! Maybe you're the violent type of girl, but _please_ be more gentle-"

"What the _hell_ were you thinking-?"

"How dare you say that to Tanaka-chan-"

"YOU IDIOT!"

Once the girls were finished whacking him with their purses and schoolbags, they all shot him identical glares, before marching huffily away.

I watched in amusement as he stumbled back to us, rubbing a particularly bruised part of his arm. He sighed in defeat, before laughing sheepishly and digging through the messy contents of his bag, "How much do I owe you two again?"

XXX

"Just because she didn't respond the way I expected her to, that doesn't mean that someone else won't!" Shigure pouted, shaking a blank-faced Hatori back and forth, before giving up and turning to me. "Come on, Fujikawa-chan, back me up here!"

"And why would I do that?" I smirked at him, licking the ice cream cone I'd bought with the money I had won from our bet. The cousins were currently walking me home, something that had become sort of routine for us.

"You're a girl, right? Right?"

"So _kind_ of you to finally notice-"

"Good. Okay, so if you were a normal girl, wouldn't you be falling for me right away?"

"_Normal_ girl?"

"That's not the _point,_ Fujikawa-chan! I mean, I'm so charming, sweet, kind, lovable, and just_ look_ at this gorgeous face~!"

"..." I raised an eyebrow, and couldn't help but snicker at the look on his face;

"Anyways, Fujikawa. If you could have any one one of us, who would you pick?" Shigure poked my cheek repeatedly, almost bouncing up and down. "Me, right? Wouldn't you pick me?"

"Of course, _I_ would, Shigure-"

"Oh, I had no doubts about_ that,_ Aya."

Wanting to play a trick on him, I snaked an arm around Hatori's shoulder, pressing my torso against his and giving him an awkward peck on the cheek. "Sorry to disappoint you, lover boy."

"_What_? You'd pick _Ha'ri_? But what about me-?"

"Well, he's_ way_ better looking than you, for one thing. And he's so much more smart, mature, dashing, kind-"

"None of those words describe Ha'ri! Come on, Fujikawa-chan! Do you have no taste in men?"

"Thanks a lot, Shigure."

"I didn't mean that, Ha'ri~"

"Sure you didn't."

I laughed at the hurt look on his face, unwinding myself from Hatori before smirking at him. "I was just kidding about that. You're all okay guys, but I wouldn't pick one of you. Actually, you're all idiots."

"But you love us anyways, right?" Ayame exclaimed. "We love you too, Fujikawa-chan."

Shigure nodded in agreement, before sighing regretfully. "It's a pity we all can't share you-"

"Shut up, Shigure," I batted his arm playfully, before stopping in front of my house and giving them a little wave. "See you guys tomorrow."

"Bye, Fujikawa-chan! Think of me in your dreams, sweetheart~"

I brandished the secret weapon that my half-brother left on the lawn. "Do you see this? This is a baseball bat. Now, if you make the baseball bat angry-"

"Don't hurt me!" Shigure cried out, bracing his hands in surrender. "Ha'ri, help me! Ayaaaaaaa~"

I smirked, swinging the bat behind my shoulder. "Ha. That's what I thought. G'night, boys. Try not to rape anyone."

"That's not something to joke about, Fujikawa-chan!" Shigure reprimanded, furrowing his brow in mock anger and slapping a hand onto my shoulder.

"Who said that I was _joking_?" I scoffed, resisting the urge to laugh once I saw the dejected look on his face.

"You're so _cold_, Princess."

"I thought I told you never to call me that again-!"

"Just ignore him. Fujikawa-san. I'll deal with him later. See you tomorrow. Have a nice evening," Hatori cut me off, shooting a stern look at Shigure and shoving him behind.

He inclined his head politely in my direction, before steering his two cheerfully waving cousins away, shoulders rigid. Honestly, I just couldn't figure him out. I stared at him blankly for a moment, before turning around abruptly and running towards my house.

I pushed upon the door, the aroma of fried noodles floating from the kitchen. I set down my backpack, calling out half-heartedly, "Hi. I'm home."

My mother stepped into the living room, giving me a weary smile. "Hello, Sukochi."

I tried not to flinch as she walked closer to me. There were a couple moments of awkard silence in which we just stared at each other. I didn't know what to say or do, choosing to only stare up into her brown eyes.

Suddenly, she tentatively wrapped her arms around my shoulders. I stiffened, and my mind flashed back to that day, all of those years ago. The last time I ever hugged anyone. My father. The day he left. The closed door. The day that my life changed. The day that I made a vow never to let anyone get close to me ever again.

I instinctively pushed her away, stumbling backwards. I avoided her confused gaze, before muttering an almost inaudible apology.

"Why are you always like this, Sukochi?" her voice was harsh, disbelieving. I could hear the hurt, the distrust. "I try to make things better between the two of us. Your stepfather does the same. Kiyomi's always trying to be friends with you. But no. All you do is antagonize us further. Why, Sukochi? Why did you have to change? Why are you like this?"

"You should know. It's your fault that he's gone," I whispered, thinking of dad. The sharp scent of his cologne. His laugh. His smile.

"You think it's my fault that Daichi's gone?" my mother's voice quivered as she struggled to keep herself steady. "Is that really what you think?"

I paused. She thought I was talking about Daichi? Was I supposed to correct her? But would that make her even angrier if she knew that I was referring to Dad?

My mother's face darkened. "So that's how you've felt all of this time?"

I couldn't say anything. I just couldn't.

"I don't see why you feel that way. I wasn't in the car that day. I don't understand...why do you hate me so much? Why don't you try to do anything? I don't understand you anymore! Why, Sukochi? Are you even my daughter anymore? You're just like your father."

Anger boiled in my blood. I wasn't like my father. He left me when I needed him the most. He decided to disappear. I never got any messages from him. He wasn't my father. I hated him so much. I hated him more than anything.

"You..you..._never_ compare me to him."

I turned around, grabbed my bag, and ran out the door. It was already dusk, the sky turning into a pale lavender and orange blend. The wind rushed past me as I ran, my feet pattering agasint the sidewalk, ignoring the people who stared at me as I passed by.

I didn't have a particular destination. At the moment, I didn't really care where I went. As long as I stayed far away from her. And Kiyomi. And my stepfather. Everything. I wanted it to disappear. Adrenaline rushed through my veins.

But finally, I had to stop, panting heavily. I almost collapsed onto the sidewalk. There was a burning stitch on my side.

I flopped onto a park bench and closed my eyes, breathing in and out as my head slowly cleared. I opened my eyes, met with an almost vacant street. What the hell did I just do? Sukochi, you idiot...

I shivered as a particularly fierce gust of wind blew by, wrapping my coat a little tighter around my waist. Did I really have a choice? Where was I going to go now? What the hell was I going to do next?

I really was pathetic.


	7. Chapter 7- The Park Bench

Hatori's POV

"Hey, Ha'ri!" Shigure called out from downstairs, his voice muffled by the thick wall separating us "Wanna take a walk? The weather isn't too bad tonight, so what do you think?"

"Did Ayame agree to stay home? We can't risk him transforming," I shouted back, standing up and placing an index card in my book as a quick bookmark, before placing it neatly onto my desk. Flicking the light switch off, I hopped off my mattress and put on my light windbreaker.

"Yeah, he said he didn't mind," my cousin answered as I zipped up the jacket and thundered down the stairs. "So you're worried as usual?"

"There's just too much to worry about," I muttered as I grabbed a flashlight and pushed open the front door. "You're not going to date anyone, right?"

"Of course not," he frowned at me as we stepped out into the cool night air, cherry blossom petals blowing past gently. We walked across the lawn of our house inside of the estate, feet pattering against the moist grass and soil. "I'm not as stupid as you think I am, Ha'ri."

I sighed. "I'm aware of that. But we're still friends with Fujikawa-san. So you're going to have to be careful. You want to stay in a normal high school, right? There's no telling what Akito might do if someone accidentally finds out about the curse."

"Do you really think that she'd lock us up if that happened?"

"Of course she would," I snapped back. "Don't you know who you're dealing with?"

His brow furrowed. "She's not a bad person, Ha'ri."

"So you still like her?"

"I promised that I would love her forever."

"That was the promise all of us were supposed to make. See how that turned out."

There was only silence. We turned the corner, before walking passed a street filled with hair salons and sushi restaurants. The air was tainted with the smell of alcohol and the odor of hair spray. It was nearly empty this late at night, except for what appeared to be a person sleeping on a park bench.

The two of us continued walking in silence, listening to the chirps of cicadas, watching as the moon and stars lit up the night sky. As we got closer to the person on the park bench, Shigure's eyes narrowed and he said in a hushed voice, "Give me the flashlight, Ha'ri."

I obliged. He shone it onto the sleeping person, revealing a curtain of dark hair covering a familiar face, her chest heaving up and down in the easy rhthym of sleep. "It's...Fujikawa-san?"

Shigure gaped. "What is she doing here? Did something happen at home?"

"How am I supposed to know?"

We continued to stare dumbfounded at her, unsure of what to do. She muttered something completely incoherent in her sleep, before turning around and facing away from us, face pressed to the back of the bench.

Shigure finally spoke up. "So what do you think we should do? We can't just _leave_ her here."

"Who says we can't? It's not our responsibility-"

"But she's vulnerable! What if some rapist kidnaps her? Or what if someone wants to hold her hostage or kill her? Anything could happen to her here! We_ have_ to take her with us," Shigure protested indignantly, crouching down to brush the hair out of her face.

"We can't, you _idiot_! What about Akito? If she finds out that we've been hanging around a _girl_ for the past month and had the stupidity to bring her home to the estate where anyone could find her, what do you think she'll do?" I hissed at him, leaning forward to tug his arm. "Don't you know what you're doing?"

"Something _must_ have happened! Why else would she be sleeping on a park bench? Maybe if you ask her, she'll tell you what happened. I don't know!" he threw up his hands in frustration, before continuing. "You're curious, _aren't_ you? The best way to figure her out is to get her to trust you! But anyways, even if you don't want to, I'm still bringing her home no matter what you say. What kind of friends are we if we don't?"

He spoke it with a tone of finality, reaching an arm out to grab her backpack, which was resting besides her head.

He tossed it to me, before bending down and easing her thin body onto his back. She murmured something incoherent in her sleep, but didn't wake up as he tucked her legs around his torso. Her arms were slumped over his shoulders, cheek pressed to his hair.

"Are you sure she isn't too heavy for you?" I asked quietly as he stumbled forward.

"Nah, I'm fine. I can handle her on my own," he grunted as he regained his balance, before giving me a strained smirk. "So I guess we're bringing her back home? I knew you'd give in eventually."

Our late-night walk forgotten, we slowly made our way back to the estate, trying not to wake her up.

"So any theories as to why we found her on a park bench?" Shigure raised an eyebrow at me, panting as she dozed peacefully on his back.

"Something with her family, I guess? Or maybe she's been sleeping on a park bench this entire time and we never noticed. We can ask her when she wakes up," I nodded, unable to look away from her sleeping form.

"Hehe, she's going to kill us, isn't she?" he chuckled sheepishly, turning his head slightly to smile at her fondly.

"She'll tell you that you're a creepy rapist and threaten to hit you with her baseball bat," I said, my lips upturning in an involuntary smile at the thought. "And she'll slap you and say that you're a pervert."

He winced. "I can feel it already."

Sukochi's POV

I opened my eyes, before shutting them immediately when a ray of piercing sunlight hit me squarely in the face. Groaning, I turned over, smashing my face into a pillow.

Wait...a pillow? Something was wrong here.

I forced myself to think back to yesterday. Running away from home. Flopping onto the park bench. Without realizing it, falling asleep. And then what? Wasn't I supposed to be outside? Had my family somehow found me and dragged me home?

I forced myself to open my eyes and sit up once again, blinking owlishly as my eyes darted around the room. My surroundings were unfamiliar. I was sleeping on a futon couch.

The floor was made of a red-orange type of wood. Oriental vases sat on top of small tables. The walls and ceiling were painted a light green color. A grandfather clock squatted in the corner. Stairs to my right led up to another floor. I had been sleeping on a futon couch.

So where the hell was I?

"Good morning, Fujikawa-san."

Oh shit. I turned my head around slowly.

Hatori was sitting on a stool, already dressed in his school uniform. He handed me a paper cup filled with water, his facial expression remaining blank and as stoic as usual.

Y-you-" I stuttered, flushing as I stared wide-eyed at him. "What the hell did you do to me?"

"I didn't do anything," he raised an eyebrow at me, before saying in a bored voice. "You were sleeping on a park bench when Shigure and I found you. If you _must_ know, I wanted to leave you there, but Shigure convinced me otherwise. And so, now you're here. In our house. It was what a friend would have done, right?"

I gritted my teeth. "Fine."

"Are you hungry? I'll make you some breakfast," he offered, standing up and dusting off his slacks.

"No, not really," I said stubbornly, doing my best to ignore the throbbing pain in my stomach. "Anyways...where are Sohma #2 and 3?"

"Sleeping upstairs," he answered immediately, sipping from a porcelain mug filled with steaming tea. "A train could run through this house and the two of them still wouldn't wake up. Since you _clearly_ don't want breakfast, I'd suggest that you change out of your clothes and walk with me to school. You can wash your clothes in the school laundry room."

After he finished speaking, I glanced instinctively down at my clothes. They were coated in a layer of dust and dirt that wouldn't even come off entirely when I furiously tried to scrub it off with my hand. After finally throwing up my hands and admitting defeat, I crossed my arms and nodded stiffly.

"Good. Since I don't really have any girls' clothes, you'll just have to make do with some old ones of mine from middle school," he said, tossing me a plastic bag filled with clothes and ushering me into a small bathroom a few meters away.

I closed the door, before peeking into the bag. A baggy t-shirt. Jeans that looked way too big for me. A thick leather belt.

I changed quickly, peeling off my dirty uniform and throwing on his loose clothes. Why had Shigure and Hatori wanted to bring me home? If Hatori refused at first, what had Shigure said in order to convince him otherwise? Was he going to ask me some weird questions? Or would they just accept it?

Hatori was standing at the door, fingers tapping on his knee when I stepped out of the bathroom, tucking the bottom of the shirt into his old jeans. He wordlessly handed me my backpack, before saying in a quiet voice, "Ready to go?"

I nodded, hoisting the bag onto my shoulders before following him out of the door and into the early morning sunshine. The air was light and cool, crisp like it usually was during springtime.

The streets were mostly empty, since it was still early, but every now and then we encountered a lone jogger, or a man or woman walking a small dog. The two of us didn't speak for a couple of minutes as we ambled across streets and padded on the sidewalk.

"So what really happened last night?" he finally asked- the very question I had been anticipating. For the last few moments I had been preparing and carefully planning out an answer, but my mind blanked out as soon as I tried to search for it.

Thinking intently for a few seconds, I finally gave up. "Erm...some family issues."

"I'm guessing you got into a fight with your foster parents?"

Wait. Hold on a second. Foster parents? Since when did I have foster parents? Was he joking around or being serious?

"Excuse me?" I asked, my mouth suddenly very dry. "Foster parents?"

For the first time since I met him, he seemed genuinely puzzled, an eyebrow raised. "I mean what I said. Did something happen between you and your foster parents?"

"You mean my nonexistent ones?" I retorted, frustrated. What the hell was he going on about?

"Wait, so you don't have foster parents?" he stopped to look at me. "When I searched you up, it said that your father killed your mother before committing suicide in front of you. Then you went to foster parents. So that's not true?"

"So you don't know about Daichi-" I immediately stopped, realizing that I had voiced my thoughts out loud. Okay, so when he told me that he was sorry about my family, he was referring to the tragic back-story of another Fujikawa Sukochi. And so he hadn't figured out anything about me.

He narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Who's Daichi?"

Oh shit. I was cornered. "Um...he was just a friend of mine-"

"Yeah, right," Hatori interrupted me, voice sarcastic. "So who is he?"

Our eyes locked for a few moments before I realized that there was no way I was going to get out of this. What was the worst that could happen if I told him? "Who he _was_."

Awkward silence. "I'm sorry."

"Um, so...yeah. If you have to know...he was my brother. When I was eleven, he-," I stopped, curling my hands into fists, before continuing shakily, "he was killed in a car accident. After that...well, things went downhill. My dad lost his job. We couldn't afford the house anymore so we lived in a small apartment. My parents fought everyday. It got so bad that they eventually had to divorce. My dad went off somewhere and I haven't seen him since. My mom remarried this guy who had a daughter from his previous marriage. Then they had my half-brother. I...don't really get along with them."

"So is that why you were on the park bench?" he asked quietly. I couldn't read this facial expression.

"Yeah."

More silence. "I'm sorry, Fujikawa."

"What's the use of saying that?" I snapped, glaring fiercely at him. "Is that going to do anything to help me or you? Are you happy? What are you going to do now, Sohma?"

He chose not to respond, avoiding eye contact, and we spent the rest of the trip to school in silence.


	8. Chapter 8- A Lack of Explanations

Sukochi's POV

After a long, tiring, boring day at school in which I was yelled at by my teacher for not completing any of my homework assignments from the previous day, I raced out the door without waiting for the Sohma trio, and ran home. I got some strange looks, but I ignored them as I pushed open the door among tides of chattering students and burst into the midday sunshine.

I wondered what went through their minds when they saw me sleeping on a park bench. What would I have done? Called the police? Left them there without a second thought? I guess I really was that selfish.

The cherry blossom trees were in full bloom, the pale pink petals swirling around in the cool breeze. I sneezed loudly, before taking off at a faster speed, loose skirt swirling around my almost bare legs.

I sprinted past joggers, pedestrians, and students as I tried to get home as soon as possible, occasionally peeking over my shoulder to make sure that the creeps weren't following me.

What was Hatori thinking right now? Did he tell Shigure and Ayame about the the secret I'd told him? That goddamn bastard was just too unpredictable. What was I supposed to do now?

Too soon, I was standing in front of my house. I took a deep breath, before pushing open the door, and saying quietly, "I'm home."

My mother peeked her head out of the kitchen. The smell of freshly-baked cookies was wafting out of the kitchen, and her dark hair was lightly-dusted with flour. She gave me a weary smile, before untying her lime green apron and throwing it on the kitchen counter. "Well, you're home early today. Are you alright?"

"I'm okay," I mumbled under my breath, desperately avoiding eye contact.

"I'm glad that you're safe. Where were you last night?" The fake smile on her face never wavered. "I was worried."

"I...I tried to camp out on a park bench and I...um...yeah. I fell asleep. My friends found me and brought me to their house for the night. It was a nice thing to do," I responded awkwardly, wondering why she didn't seem mad at all.

"Those Sohma boys that always walk you home every day? Well, they must be very nice boys to have helped you out." She nodded in approval, before raising an eyebrow at me and crossing her arms. "Are you going to say anything about last night?"

I was stupid to not have seen that coming. "I'm sorry."

Of course I didn't mean it. Every apology I made to her, or the other way around, was never genuine. She'd never trust me again. And I'd never trust her either. But she always said sorry with that same fake smile on her face. Said sorry with those same candy-coated words. Lies. Empty promises. Said that she wanted to start over again. But things weren't like that. Things would never be the same between us.

"I'd really like to meet these friends of yours, Sukochi," she said brightly, changing the subject abruptly and clapping her hands together. "I want to thank them for being so nice to you, dear. So when you see them again tomorrow, would you please invite them over for dinner? Kiyomi's really eager to meet them as well."

I thought desperately for a way out, some lame excuse, wincing at the thought of how awkward that scenario would be. But then I thought of Shigure's goofy smile. How likable he actually was. He could probably pull himself and his cousins through a dinner with the family they knew I hated.

My mother beamed, taking my silence as a "yes". "Great. Do you know what they'd want to eat? I'd like to make your new friends as comfortable as possible."

"Anything should be fine," I said hurriedly, before averting my eyes and looking down at my shoes. "Well, I should probably...um...start my homework now. I couldn't do any yesterday, so I have to make a lot up. See you later."

Without giving her another glance, I slipped my feet out of my sneakers and ran up the stairs, heading towards my room.

XXX

"Of course, darling!" Shigure trilled. "We would simply love the pleasure of your family's company!"

The sliver of hope within me died instantly. I had been secretly hoping that the cousins had some sort of plan for the evening that would prevent them from coming over for the dinner. But sadly, fortune wasn't on my side as usual. The Sohmas were meeting my parents, whether I liked it or not.

Hatori's stoic expression didn't change as I eyed him uncertainly. He raised an eyebrow as he caught me staring at him, mouthing "what's wrong?. I shook my head, before looking away and turning my attention back onto Shigure and Ayame. "Just don't do or say anything stupid. My parents are already suspicious of you guys for picking me up and dragging me to your house. Just convince them that you didn't do anything weird to me."

"Just leave it to me, Fujikawa-chan!" Shigure gave me a wink, flashing me a thumbs-up.

Hatori merely rolled his eyes. "Just tell your parents that we can't stay long. Our...family head wouldn't like it if we stayed out too late. Plus these idiots have some work to catch up on."

"Ha'ri, you're no fun~!" Shigure whined, pouting. "And I'm sure Akito-sama wouldn't mind, just once-"

"No," he cut him off abruptly, olive-green eyes flashing angrily.

Awkward pause.

I cleared my throat, before gesturing towards our classroom, pointing to the steady stream of students that were filing in. "Well, um...we better get moving if we don't want to be murdered by the old hag. 'Cause...you know how bitchy she gets when we're late and...yeah."

Hatori stared at Shigure for a couple seconds longer, before nodding curtly and giving me a quick smile. "Good idea. Let's go."

What the hell was that about? I narrowed my eyes at him as he stepped primly in front of me and practically marched into the classroom, followed by a sulking Shigure. I sat beside him quietly once we were inside the classroom, tapping a pencil against my chin as I watched him.

He calmly removed a couple of black pens from his navy blue pencil case and placed them on top of the desk. His textbooks and neatly-organized binders followed. He murmured a quiet greeting to the teacher, his soft words blending in with the voices of my classmates. His eyes were on her as she began to scribble something on the blackboard with pink chalk and delved head-first into her monotonous lecture. His foot tapped gently on the floor as he hastily copied notes down in his neat handwriting. Muttered something inaudible under his breath. Wrist accidentally smearing the fresh ink on the lined paper. Mouth turning downwards as he tried to scrub it off with his sleeve.

I didn't realize that I'd been staring at him so intently until he finally noticed and gave me a quizzical look. "Is something wrong, Fujikawa?"

I blinked a couple of times, before shaking my head and muttering, "Nothing."

He frowned. "Are you sure? You seemed-"

Minami-sensei paused abruptly and smacked the blackboard with her ruler, before glaring daggers at the two of us. "Is something wrong, Fujikawa-san? Sohma-san? Is there something that you'd like to share with the class?"

Hatori, being the smartass in these situations, stood up and inclined his head respectfully to the old hag. "My apologies, Minami-sensei. Fujikawa was asking me a question about what you were saying and I was trying to answer with the best of my ability."

The old woman sniffed, before giving me a stern look. "Fair enough. Next time you have a question, though, feel free to ask me."

I nodded stiffly as she, finally satisfied, turned around and resumed her lecture. I leaned my cheek against my palm and sighed quietly, half-asleep. When a folded-up piece of paper was tossed onto my desk, I had to stop myself from falling off my chair in surprise. I looked around the room to make sure that no one was looking at me, especially Minami-sensei, before hastily unfolding the note and squinting to read the tiny writing.

_Are you sure that you're okay? -Hatori_

I glanced at him. He didn't seem to notice as he continued to take notes. I shook my head, before scribbling back on the paper: _I'm fine. Sorry. Just a bit tired._

I folded it into a triangle and tossed it back to him. He quickly unopened it, raising an eyebrow at me as he read my abrupt message. Our eyes met for a couple of moments, before he averted his gaze away and refocused on the lesson.

The Sohmas lived in a large estate that was, from what I had seen, pretty much empty. Or that's what it looked like, at least. The gardens were kept neat, the porches were swept clean, and it was obvious that the family was pretty well-off, but I didn't see a single person wandering around the enormous place. Hatori had interrupted Shigure the moment he mentioned their family head. What kind of person was he? What sort of family did the cousins belong to? My preoccupied mind kept on churning out ludicrous theories. Maybe they were a mafia family. Or criminals. Or celebrities of some sort.

Well, I guess it was time to find out the truth.

XXX

Hatori's POV

Shigure patted down his hair for the millionth time, before posing in front of me in the boys bathroom. "Well? How do I look?"

"Fantastic." I rolled my eyes. "Why are you making such a big deal out of this anyways? It's just Fujikawa-san's parents. It's not like you're meeting the queen of England or anything like that."

"Don't be so rude." Shigure poked me playfully on the shoulder. "You still have to get them to like you."

"And why is that?" I raised an eyebrow.

He merely gave me a mysterious smile. "No reason."

"Yeah, sure." I eyed him suspiciously as he gave his own reflection a confident, goofy grin, before pushing open the door to the bathroom and exiting. I followed him as we met up with Ayame and Fujikawa at the entrance of the school. We exchanged polite greetings and some casual jokes as we started making our way to Fujikawa's house.

As soon as we were within a block of her house, Shigure stopped our walk to dash quickly inside a tiny, cheap florist's shop. Several minutes later of the three of us waiting impatiently for him to return, he emerged carrying a small bouquet of fresh carnations wrapped in rose-pink paper.

"What the hell is that for?" Fujikawa looked skeptically at the flowers.

"For the lovely woman I'm sure your mother is!" he exclaimed cheerfully, seemingly oblivious to her uncomfortable expression.

We approached her house, and for the first time since the three of us have ever known her, she opened the wooden gate with a creak to let us in, leading us down her yard to the door of her house. She sifted through the back pocket of her schoolbag, fumbling with a silver key for a moment before inserting the key into the lock. Fujikawa pushed the door lightly with her shoulder, causing it to open.

Not a millisecond passed before a middle-aged brunette woman with occasional gray streaks in her hair bounded out of the kitchen, her brown eyes lighting up as soon as she caught sight of us. "You three must be Hatori, Shigure, and Ayame! It's so nice to finally meet you!"

I nodded politely, reaching out to shake her head. "A pleasure, Hamasaki-san."

"Just call me Reiko!" She beamed, grasping my hand kindly, before being distracted by Shigure's offer of flowers. "Oh, you're too kind, my dear!"

We all slipped our shoes off, before she ushered us excitedly into the kitchen, where a steaming meal was waiting. A girl who couldn't have been older than twelve or thirteen was already sitting at the table, chestnut hair tied up into a messy bun. As soon as she heard the commotion, she turned around, before giving us a bright smile. "You're the Sohmas, aren't you? Sukochi talks about you guys all the time, so it's great-"

"I so do not!" Fujikawa hissed at the girl, who stuck her tongue out at our classmate and winked at us. She rolled her eyes, before jutting her thumb at the girl and explaining, "This is Kiyomi, the little brat."

"Hey!"

"Kiyomi, your dinner is upstairs. We don't have enough seats at the table for everyone, and I'd really like to talk to Sukochi's friends, so-"

The girl huffed angrily, before sitting up and slouching out of the dining room. "Meanie."

Reiko picked up a small child with her dark hair and eyes and placed him in a high-chair, giving him a kiss on the cheek before plunging into the cutlery drawer and taking out five pairs of chopsticks. Her lips were upturned in a soft smile as she pinned her bangs back with a pin. "My husband has to work late today, so he might not turn up for dinner. He told me to say hello to you from him, and that he's very grateful for the kindness you've shown Sukochi."

Reiko ran to the kitchen, bringing back a clay teapot painted with designs of delicate blue flowers, pouring a thin stream of green tea into ceramic cups that had been spread out on the table. "Go ahead and help yourselves, boys."

I tentatively picked up my wooden chopsticks and picked up a gyoza, biting into it and tasting the shredded lettuce and savory minced pork. Her mother was obviously a talented cook. I glanced at Fujikawa. She hadn't said a word since we arrived at her house, quietly eating her bowl of yaki soba noodles.

"So, Reiko-san, what do you do for a living?" Shigure inquired cheerfully, happily swallowing a spicy eggplant dish with gusto.

"Oh, I just do some work in real estate. Nothing too exciting," she laughed, before leaning forward. "But the life of some old lady shouldn't interest you. I want to hear about you three. So tell me about yourselves."

Shigure and Ayame, as enthusiastic as they usually were, began to tell the story of when he was five and a flock of angry geese had chased him out of their territory after he tried to kidnap a chick. Reiko laughed as he recounted with misty eyes how they chased him for a full ten minutes before giving up and returning to their nesting place near a small lake.

Still nothing from Fujikawa.

"-so what about you, Hatori-kun? Anything interesting about yourself?"

I put down my chopsticks to wipe my mouth with a napkin, before responding, "Well, I started to apply for colleges very recently. I'd like to go to either Kyoto or Osaka University, and after that, I'll probably study at medical school and get my degree. I'm planning on becoming the family doctor."

"Wow, your friend's very ambitious, Sukochi!" Reiko laughed as she ruffled Fujikawa's dark hair, failing to get a reaction out of her daughter other than a slight scowl. "So what do you mean by family doctor, Hatori?"

Shigure shot me "the look", but I ignored him, pausing to think for a moment before finally answering, "The old family doctor recently passed away, so I have to take his place. Our family head has a worsening health condition. I've taken care of him since the old doctor passed away, but there's only so much I can do without a degree. He tends not to trust doctors from outside the family, and I've always been interested in medical practices, so he decided that the job would be a good fit for me."

"What's Fujikawa-chan planning to do in the future?" Shigure asked Reiko eagerly, a strange gleam in his eyes. I narrowed my eyes in suspicion. What was he planning to do?

"Well, I wouldn't know," she replied anxiously, sliding her gold wedding band up and down her ring finger. "Why don't you ask her yourself?"

Fujikawa didn't look up as she answered in a dull voice, "I like writing, so I'll just be a journalist or something like that. Nothing too great."

"Well, speaking of Fujikawa-chan's future," Shigure jumped back into the conversation quickly, "I'd like to talk to you about the incident two nights ago."

Fujikawa's head snapped up in surprise. I raised an eyebrow at him, but before I could stop him from going any further, he cut me off, "I'd like an explanation of what happened, if you wouldn't mind."

Reiko didn't meet his gaze, fidgeting. "I'm afraid that that's a personal matter, and it doesn't concern you, Shigure-"

"Well, it does. We found her, didn't we? We brought her to our house and made sure she was safe. Forgive me if I'm wrong, Reiko-san, but that's more than you'd done. I think we have a right to know what happened that night. As a sign of your gratitude," his tone was clipped, business-like, with the slightest hint of sarcasm.

It was rare that anyone saw Shigure like this. I thought about he stubbornly insisted that we bring Sukochi home, despite the risks. It was obvious that he really cared about her.

"Sukochi and I got into a little argument, that's all," she responded, flashing him a quick, obviously-faked smile. "We've gotten over it, so it's fine-"

"So how long has this sort of thing gone on in this family?" Shigure interrupted her again, on a roll."Maybe she's left home before to sleep on a park bench and we just didn't notice it. Haven't you been doing anything to help her? Something's obviously wrong. What if someone kidnapped her? What if someone hurt her? Didn't you send someone to look for her after she disappeared?"

Reiko was clearly flustered by his nonstop questions. "I thought that we should give her some time to cool off, and I knew that she could take care of herself-"

"What kind of excuse is that? Your daughter could have gotten in serious trouble. She's still a minor, Reiko-san. You know she can't take care of herself yet. I don't think I can trust you to take care of our friend."

"That's enough, Shigure-kun, I've known her all her life, and you've only known her for a month, so-"

"Or do you? Do you really known her, Reiko-san?" he challenged in a dangerously-quiet voice, eyes locked fiercely on hers.

"So...what are you going to do about it, Shigure-kun?" her voice trembled, and she seemed to be on the verge of tears. "I'm doing what I think is best for Sukochi, and-"

"You said something about letting her cool off, right? I don't really think a park bench is the place to do it. So I have an offer to make, Reiko-san. Let Fujikawa-chan live with us for a while. We live in a large estate, and there's a guest bedroom in our house, so we'd be happy to welcome her. Our family head wouldn't mind, and I promise that we'll take care of her. How does that sound?"

I froze in my spot. "Our family head wouldn't mind"? We weren't supposed to be friends with a girl in the first place, and now we were bringing one home to live with us? In the same house? Where the risk of the secret being let out was a thousand times worse? Was he _insane_? "Shigure, I don't-"

He cut me off, repeating in a louder voice. "How does that sound, Reiko-san? Like I said, she'll be safe with us."

For the first time since the conversation began, I glanced at Fujikawa. Her mouth was open, and she mouthed silently, as if she were a fish out of water. It looked like she was trying to say something, but the shock stopped the words from coming out. I didn't blame her. I felt the exact same way.

Reiko swallowed nervously, before turning to her daughter and reaching for her hand, "Is this what you want, Sukochi? Do you want to live with your friends? Would you be happier that way?"

Fujikawa's hand immediately darted away. She widened her eyes, looking up to lock eyes with me. I wanted to tell her to say "no", but what would be my reasoning for not wanting her to live with us? I couldn't tell them about the curse. Or about how Akito would go on a rampage if she found out we had a girl living with us. I couldn't just retract Shigure's offer without any suspicious. My mind searched desperately for a way out. She couldn't live with us. She just couldn't. "Fujikawa-san-"

She nodded slowly, and her mother looked down at her half-finished noodles. "So if that's what you want, dear...I won't stop you. I'm sorry that I didn't do anything to help you."

Shigure smiled triumphantly, leaning to his right to give Fujikawa's hand a squeeze. "Excellent. Well, the four of us have a test to study for tomorrow, and Hatori specifically told me not to stay here too late. So we better get going. Well, you better grab some stuff from your room, Fujikawa-chan."

Her mother seemed to be far away as he grabbed Fujikawa's arm, and tugged her up the stairs. Several minutes later, the two came back quietly, carrying a cardboard box filled with clothes and books. Shigure gave the still-dazed Reiko a kind smile.. "Thank you for the dinner, Reiko-san. It really was a pleasure to meet you."

Fujikawa and her mother didn't seem to find the words to say good-bye to one another, so after we bowed to Reiko and thanked her once again for the delicious meal, we left, Fujikawa in tow.

Shigure was humming softly as we walked in the direction of the estate, ambling across the street. I leaned towards him, before whispering harshly, "I think I deserve an explanation for this, Shigure. What the hell were you thinking? We can't have a girl living with us!"

He gave me a smirk and mouthed "I'll tell you later" before turning back to Fujikawa and engaging her in a primarily one-sided conversation.

I groaned internally, cursing my bad luck. What the hell was I supposed to do now?


	9. Chapter 9- Change

Hatori's POV

I watched her, leaning my chin against my palm as she slept soundly on the futon couch, her breathing steady and even. Her eyelashes fluttered slightly. She rolled over and buried her face into the blankets, muttering something completely incoherent.

There was a loud rustle from behind me. Shigure was watching me, amused smirk upturning his lips ever-so-slightly, paper cup of water in his hand. "She's an interesting girl, huh?"

"Why did you do that?" I asked him in a hushed voice, eyes never leaving her peacefully-sleeping form. "Fujikawa's going to be even more worse-off if she lives here. Akito could do anything to her when we're not here, especially since we didn't even ask for her permission. Bringing her home for one night was already crossing the line. And now-?"

"You worry too much, Ha'ri." He chucked nonchalantly, running his fingers through his dark hair. "It'll all work out. I'll convince Akito. She'll put the blame on me, yell at me, maybe throw a couple of things. She won't think it's your fault."

"It's not about that!" I glared at him in frustration. "I don't really care about what she does to me or you or Ayame. We can handle it. We've handled it for over sixteen years. I'm worried about Fujikawa-"

"Oh?" Another smirk. "That's a first."

"Shut up," I snapped. "If you really wanted to protect her, you would have left her where she belongs. And that's with her parents. I'm sure she's dealt with it for a while-"

"Yeah, dealt with it without anyone giving a damn!" Shigure slammed his fist onto a table, glaring fiercely at me. "God, Hatori, can't you just give it a rest? I said that it would be fine. We can talk to Akito. Fujikawa doesn't know about the curse yet, so what's the harm? We're just doing what good friends would."

"Okay, fine. But we talk to Akito first thing tomorrow morning. Keeping secrets from her is never a good thing," I said reluctantly, listening to Fujikawa's gentle snores to make sure that she was still sleeping. "Deal?"

"Whatever you say, Hatori." Shigure nodded, satisfied, before letting out a yawn, stretching his arms above his head. "Let's just call it a night, okay? I'm exhausted."

He groggily trudged up the stairs, his footsteps heavy and loud, before I heard the sound of a closing door. I listened for another moment, before turning back to Fujikawa. I didn't really get why, but I just wasn't tired. The grandfather clock ticked loudly, piercing into the stony silence. Was it really that loud?

Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the door. I snapped to attention, eyes instinctively scanning my surroundings. I inhaled deeply, before walking briskly to the door, yanking it open. "What do you-?"

An elderly woman wearing a simple blue kimono inclined her head respectfully to me, tendrils of her gray hair slipping out of her messy bun. "I apologize for disturbing you, Sohma-san, but Akito-sama requested that I bring you to him. He would like to have a quick word with you. He tells me that it's urgent and can't wait."

My heart almost stopped. I swallowed back a gasp, hoping that the surprise didn't show on my face. I bowed to the woman, keeping my expression as blank and unreadable as possible. "Thank you, ma'am. Tell Akito-sama that I'll be there in a moment."

I closed the door hastily, rushing to the window to watch as she slowly walked across the courtyard, and entered the house where I knew Akito had locked herself inside. After making sure that she wouldn't be able to see, I grabbed my cellphone out of my pocket and texted Shigure quickly. going 2 akito's. make sure f is ok.

Slipping on a light jacket and shoving my feet into my shoes, I kicked open the door and nearly sprinted across the courtyard, heart pounding.

I knew that bringing her back was a bad idea. I shouldn't have listened to Shigure. I should have seen this coming. What was Akito going to say to me? What move was she going to make next?

Was I going to have to erase her memories and lose the only friend I had ever made outside of the Sohma family?

It really was selfish, I knew it was. But the Sohma family was famous for being selfish.

I ran into the house, pushing the screen door to the left, wrinkling my nose as I finally got a whiff of particularly-strong incense. The room was nearly dark, illuminating by a couple of dimly-lit candles. I collapsed to my knees, pressing my forehead to the ground and feeling the cool tatami mat pressed against my skin as I greeted her, "Good evening, Akito-sama."

"Hello, Hatori." She sounded slightly-amused, maybe even a bit annoyed. I really couldn't tell. I sat up slowly, putting my hands on my lap as I sat in front of her. Her eyes were hidden by her stringy raven bangs, frail body covered by a baggy blue kimono. A smirk teased her chapped lips. The elderly woman stood behind her, face impassive. "How are you today?"

"Just fine, Akito-sama." I bit the inside of my cheek. "And yourself?"

"Just fine, Hatori," she mimicked, letting out a bitter laugh. Uncomfortable silence filled the cool, dark air.

"How's the girl?" she finally spoke, grinning at me. I quickly looked away. It was ridiculous, I knew it was- to live in fear of a girl who had barely turned ten. The dragon encouraged me to kiss her feet, declare my undying loyalty to her, to do the exact opposite of what my conscious, independent mind wanted to. My mind throbbed, and I bit back a cry of pain. "What, did you honestly believe that I didn't know about her? Do you really think that I'm that stupid? Foolish boy."

I chose not to say anything. She glared darkly at me, before clearing her throat and giving me a candy-coated smile. "So is she a nice girl? A sweet one? Do you like her? Is she so brilliant and amazing that you directly disobeyed my orders and befriended her? Is that it, Hatori?" Her onyx eyes widened, reflecting the golden candlelight. Hysteria slipped into her cold, slithering voice. "And now she's living with you three. Whose idea was that? Was it you? Or was it Shigure? Ayame? Tell me, Hatori. Tell me."

She grabbed my chin, pulling me so close to her that I could smell her jasmine perfume, so close that I could see every little detail on her face. The freckle on her chin. Her hollow cheeks. Long black eyelashes. The dark circles under her eyes. It repulsed and fascinated me at the same time. I wanted to scream.

"It was me," I fibbed, heart racing. "I asked her if she wanted to live with us. It was me."

She let go of me, sitting back onto her heels and studying my face carefully. "You disobeyed my orders, Hatori. But I suppose that there isn't much I can do about it. So as a punishment, I'd like to ask you some questions."

I nodded stiffly, slightly relieved. It was a better reaction than I had expected.

"What's her name?"

"Fujikawa Sukochi."

"How old is she?"

"Sixteen. Seventeen in a few months."

"Does she know about the curse?"

"No."

Empty silence. She ran her fingers across my cheeks, brushing her palm against my forehead, eyes cold. Her touch prompted a shiver to run up and down my spine. The places where her hand had grazed still tingled. "If you're lying to me, Hatori, you will pay the price."

I shook my head fearfully, praying that she believed me.

"Alright." She nodded, finally satisfied with my answer. Akito gently took hold of my hand, saying in a soft yet dangerous voice, like she'd snap any second now,"You were supposed to love me, Hatori. Only me. I'm your God. You are forever my servant. That's the way that it will be for the rest of eternity. My loyal, obedient slave, Sohma Hatori. So...what shall I do now? I can't allow you three to escape me. And I'm confident that you won't. Our bond goes deeper than mere affection. Right, Hatori? A simple human girl isn't enough to take you away from me. But perhaps it will be. Perhaps it won't." She let go of my hand and yanked a daisy out of a ceramic vase, methodically plucking the delicate snow-white petals off, before ripping the stem in half in frustration. "So I'm going to perform a little experiment. To test your loyalty to me. I'm going to let this little girl stay here. You are not to tell her that I'm aware of her existence. Do you understand?" I nodded, swallowing. "Excellent. She's going to find out about our little abnormality, and she's going to think you three are liars and monsters, and she's going to leave you in the end. That's what always happens. Usually. Perhaps. Maybe she'll be different, maybe she won't."

I gazed at the tiny petals on the mat, so helpless and pathetic.

"All of you slaves seem to be getting rather restless lately," she continued to drawl. "So I think I have to reinforce the lesson: we can't survive alongside normal humans. You're supposed to love me, no other. I'm the only person who can ever truly understand your suffering. You seem to be forgetting that. Hm? So I'll let you keep your little whore. Let's see how long it takes before she breaks your heart and leaves you hanging. I'll be keeping an eye on my little experiment. Don't forget that, Hatori." She laughed as she let go of me, still leaning forward to run her cold fingers through my hair. "Don't worry, dear. I won't hurt her. I promise. Well, at least for now. You're dismissed. Sleep well, my darling."

I bowed to her one more time, before standing up and pushing the screen door aside once again, stepping into the cool night air. Before I closed it completely, however, I heard a soft rustle and a harsh whisper, "Akito-sama. I have something to tell you."

I raised an eyebrow, closing the door, before moving slightly to the left. I crouched down, holding my knees to my chest, cheek pressed against the thin paper of the screen. I strained to hear their quiet conversation.

"Yes, Kotomi? What is it?" She sounded impatient.

"I'm not sure if this is a coincidence, but...I believe we have connections with the girl's father."

"Really?" Akito's voice had taken on an interested, slightly amused edge. "Tell me more."

"He served Akira-sama about fifteen years ago, before quitting to start his own business or something like that. I believe he's a distant cousin of ours. Fujikawa Katashi. Your father thought very highly of him."

"Fujikawa is a fairly common name." Akito sounded slightly skeptical, but I could hear the thinly-disguised excitement in her voice. "Are you sure that she's his daughter?"

"He mentioned having a young daughter named Sukochi. I'm certain that he's her father. I'll look further into it if you like, Akito-sama."

"No, you've done enough, Kotomi. Thank you. I'd like you to find this man, wherever he is. I'm sure he can't have moved that far away from here. Yes. I believe we have his contact information in the records? Yes. Excellent. I'd like to have a good word with him. Tell him that Sohma Akito, the son of his old master, has something very important to tell him. To get him motivated, tell him that I have his daughter at my disposal."

I stood up as quietly, hoping that my footsteps didn't disturb the creaky wooden porch, before taking off, sneakers beating against the moist grass of the lawn. Shigure slid open the door to our house, eyes wide with concern. "Well? What happened?"

"She promised not to hurt her," I panted, hands resting on my thighs. "She's okay for now. But Akito's using her to test our loyalty to her. She's planning to throw her away once she leaves us. Akito thinks that it's inevitable. You don't want that to happen, right? And I don't want to erase her memories."

Shigure nodded hurriedly, glancing behind him to where she was still sleeping soundly. "So what are we going to do about it?"

"We're going to have to be more careful than ever. We can't let her find out about the curse, otherwise we're going to have to tell Akito. I'm not sure that she'll let Fujikawa stay here after that, but maybe she will. And...the crazy thing is- her father used to serve Akira-sama." Shigure's eyes widened, but I kept on going, "She asked Kotomi-san to contact him and get him back here. I'm not exactly sure what she wants to do with him, but we're going to have to watch our backs. And apparently, if this guy doesn't come, she'll do something to Fujikawa."

He nodded again. All that could be heard was the swish of the night breeze and the chirping of cicadas in the trees.

"It's funny. We're doing this all for some girl," I noted quietly, realizing how bizarre the situation actually was. "Does she really mean this much to us? We're risking everything. We don't have to do this."

He thought about it for a moment, before laughing grimly, giving me a thin-lipped smile. "Well, maybe it's time that things changed."


	10. Chapter 10- Finally

Sukochi's POV

"Since it's the weekend and we have some free time, let's make a homemade lunch!" Shigure suddenly declared, standing up and scattering papers all over the carpet in his Eureka moment.

I yawned from my place on the futon couch, boredly flipping through my textbook pages and squinting to read the tiny print. "Okay, sure...go ahead."

Hatori looked up from his laptop. "Do we even have the ingredients to make something nice?"

"Well...um. no, but-"

"Exactly. Let's just stick with take-out-"

"There is such thing as a supermarket, you know," Ayame defended his best friend.

"Yes, you're a genius, Aya~!" Shigure trilled, eyes lighting up as he bounded to the doorway, slipping his feet into his shoes. "Come on, guys! To the supermarket-"

"Seriously?" I groaned, glancing down to gaze longingly at my comfortable shirt and oversized pants. "Um, how about this? You three can go, and I can just stay here-"

"Nonsense!" Ayame swatted my shoulder, giving me a stern look. "Those who don't work don't eat! Up you go, young lady!"

"Since when?" I whined as he yanked me up, practically dragging me towards the door with unnatural gusto until I finally surrendered. The bastard was stronger than he looked. "Okay, okay, _fine._ I'll go to the goddamn supermarket. Just let me get some clothes on, okay?"

He eyed me suspiciously, before letting me go and watching me as I headed upstairs and into the guest room that I was currently occupying. I opened the closet door with a creak, grabbing a panda t-shirt, a windbreaker, and a pair of jeans.

Living with them was okay, I guess. I never felt like I was lonely or pressured, knowing that if I just walked downstairs I would find them laughing and joking around. We never really got into any fights with each other, and to avoid any sort of petty conflict, we created a schedule for washing the dishes, doing the laundry, and cooking the meals. They weren't total slobs or anything, so the house stayed pretty clean and I was able to live in a decent bedroom.

After dashing downstairs, I slipped my feet into my sneakers and headed outside with them.

It was a chilly day. Gray fog clouded the air, and I could feel the cool mist skimming my bare skin. Not too many people were out this afternoon, since the weather was sort of crappy and all.

Cue the ominous rumble of thunder. I shivered. "Um...wouldn't it be better if we just stayed inside and got take-out from somewhere?"

"Oh, come on, Fujikawa-chan! Don't be such a sissy!" Shigure said heartily, giving me a playful swat on the shoulder. "A little rain never hurt anyone. And what's the point of living without a bit of adventure? And, besides, what lazy-ass delivery boy is gonna come to her house and bring us cheap sushi anyways? And doesn't homemade sukiyaki sound like the greatest thing ever?"

"Okay then," I grumbled, looking nervously around. "Which market are we gonna go to?"

"Sunny Mart!" Ayame exclaimed cheerfully, twirling around and posing dramatically.

"Sure." I shrugged nonchalantly, sticking my hands into my pockets and staring at the cracks in the sidewalk. "So what do we need for the sukiyaki?"

"Hm..." Shigure thought about it for a moment, tapping a finger against his chin. "Well, I'm pretty sure that we still have some nappa cabbage, tofu, and scallions from the last sale...and we definitely have mirin, sake, and dashi...so, we need some Saga Wagyu beef, shiitake and Enoki mushrooms, shirataki, Wagyu fat, and...water cress! Yup, that sounds just about right!"

"Hey, Shigure," Ayame said loudly, elbowing his friend in the ribs. "Why don't we split up into pairs so the shopping doesn't take too long?"

"That's a fantastic idea, Aya~!" Shigure clapped his hands together, a maniac glimmer in his eyes. "Hey, Aya, why don't the two of us pair up?"

"I'm not even going to ask what's going on," Hatori mumbled under his breath.

"Wait, does that mean that I have to be partners with this guy?" I protested, jabbing a finger in his disgruntled face. "Seriously?"

The thought of being alone with Hatori sort of made me anxious. I still had the feeling that he was still wary of me and only let me live under the same roof as he did because his obnoxiously-cheerful cousins had forced him to. But I also had to admit that I felt the same way about him.

He never looked me in the eye or spoke to me when he didn't have to. And when the rare occasion popped up and he actually did have to speak to me, it was for me to pass the edamame or something little like that.

"Why, of course you do!" Shigure said pompously, grinning broadly at me. "What other choice do you have, Fujikawa-chan?"

"So, what are we going to buy from the lovely supermarket, Shigure?" Ayame chimed in, linking arms with him.

"Hm...how about we get the mushrooms, water cress, and shiritaki while the two of them get the beef and fat?"

"That sounds like a great idea! Let's go!" The two of them exchanged smiles, before dashing off in the direction of the market.

"Wait-" I held my hand out to stop them, but to no avail. I sighed, shaking my head. "Those idiots."

No response from the mute. Just as expected. I stuck my hands in my pockets, walking in silence.

"They're trying to get us to talk to each other," he said quietly, nearly inaudible.

I almost jumped at the sound of his calm voice, before saying huffily, "Well, yeah. I knew that."

Awkward pause. "Well...um, so what are you going to do about it? _Are_ you going to talk to me?"

"Okay, sure." He shrugged. "How did you do on that essay?"

"Not bad, I guess."

"Mm-hm."

"So...what about you?"

"It was easy."

"Um...sure. Whatever you say."

We entered the supermarket, greeted not-so-warmly by the smell of decaying vegetables and day-old fish. I shivered at the sudden wave of frigidness, wrapping my hoodie tighter around my body and taking in the sight of the grocery store.

Displays of fruits were buzzing with flies, prices and names written in green marker on a white-board. Two girls that couldn't have been much older than us were perched behind the counter, eyes glued to the brightly-glowing screens of their phones. The lights above us were dim, mud-streaked, and in desperate need of repair.

Stepping over a piece of grimy cardboard, Hatori grabbed a fire engine red basket in favor of a shopping cart, before his olive-green eyes darted around.

"Anything wrong?" I gave him a quizzical look.

"No." A small shake of his head. "I was just trying to see if I could spot Shigure and Ayame. They probably got distracted by the Pocky or Hi-Chews."

When I couldn't find the words to respond to that, he grabbed a sheet of pink paper that detailed the bargains that the supermarket had to offer this weekend and walked briskly towards the back of the store, where I assumed the beef was. I let out a huff of frustration, before half-running half-walking in order to keep up with his ridiculously-fast pace.

Damn those long legs. I was almost out of breath when I finally caught up to him.

He stopped abruptly as we neared the section with all of that refrigerated meat. I followed his line of vision, to where there was a completely empty space plus a few ripped-off price tags where piles of packaged beef strips that were currently half-price should have been.

Great. Just great.

"Well, at least they have Wagyu fat," I broke the silence half-heartedly, hefting the package in my hand before dumping it in the basket. "So should we try somewhere else? We should find your cousins and tell them that we're leaving-"

"I'll just send them a text." He sifted through his pockets, before pulling out his flip-phone, tapping a few characters into it before snapping it closed.. "Okay, let's check out now."

Before I could ask him to slow down, he headed toward the cash register, a blank, unreadable expression on his face.

When did he become so goddamn pushy?

Ignoring the cashiers' attempts to flirt with him, he greeted them politely. The moment they scanned the price tag on the fat and placed his money inside of their cash register, he shoved it into a red plastic bag and headed out the door without a word.

I sighed, shooting them an apologetic look before hurrying after him.

"So, do you know another place where we can get the beef?"

He nodded. "It might take a long time walk there, though, so we should hurry up. I told Shigure and Ayame that I'd meet them at home by 11:45."

Seeming sure of what he was doing, Hatori made a sharp left, shoes making soft scuffling noise against the cracked pavement. I struggled to follow him, not daring to tell him to slow down even though I was probably going to get a heart attack at this rate. Damn my severe unathleticism.

Suddenly, a raindrop landed on my face, yanking me roughly back into reality. I blinked, feeling more and more drip onto my nose, cheeks, and eyelashes Pretty soon, it was full-out pouring. The darkened skies cried relentlessly, and it became hard to see even two feet in front of me.

I pulled my hood over my head in an attempt to shield myself from some of the rain, but it didn't really work that well. "Sohma! Do you have an umbrella?"

He shook his head, dark hair already drenched. "We should probably find a place to take cover. I don't think we'd be able to find our way back in this weather."

"I'm in!" I shouted over the din, reaching for his hand and making a break for the nearest building. Our feet sloshed loudly in the muddy puddles, but we managed to push open the door with a loud jangle.

A ramen shop, and a crowded one no less. Shoving our way through the crowd. fingers still tightly intertwined, we were finally able to squeeze ourselves into a small, dusty booth that still wasn't completely clean; greasy plastic spoons, bits of noodles, and what looked like beef broth still littering the table's surface.

I shivered, pulling my hood down and shaking off my windbreaker. I rubbed my hands together, grateful for the shop's toastiness. "Damn that Shigure for getting us into this."

He didn't say anything, olive green eyes watching me calculatingly.

"Well?" I demanded.

"Is something wrong?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Aren't you going to buy me something to eat?"

"Since when was this part of the plan?"

"Getting stuck in a ramen place wasn't part of the plan . But since it happened, and I happen to be as hungry as hell...I think you should practice being a good boyfriend or whatever and get me something to eat."

"Don't you have money on you?"

"Stop being a cheapass and buy me some ramen."

He finally agreed, mumbling something about how women were so demanding and how he didn't know how he and his cousins managed to pick one up, before standing up and making his way to the end of the very long line in front of the counter, where a woman was spooning noodles into plastic bowls with inhumane accuracy. The place was buzzing with the voices of about thirty other people, and I closed my eyes, immersing myself in the chaos.

"Your Highness?" a sarcastic voice said, snapping his fingers in front of my face to grab my attention. "Your meal has arrived."

"Thank you very much, slave." I smiled at him as he placed the steaming bowl of ramen in front of me and handed me a pair of wooden chopsticks. "Actually, for legal purposes I'll just call you my servant."

"Women," I vaguely heard him grumble under his breath.

I smirked, slurping up the noodles. "Got a problem with us? You know, I've noticed something interesting about you. Unlike your crazy-ass cousins, you really aren't into girls. I can't really think of an explanation for that , unless your hormones are incredibly out-of-wack or...you're gay. So, I just wanted to know if-"

"No, I'm not gay. I don't really have a problem with girls. It's just that my cousins and I aren't allowed to date right now, so I consider it pointless to think about getting into a relationship," Hatori said bluntly, eyes never wavering from my face.

"It's just that every guy in our class would kill to be you. Or for that matter, your cousins. You know how many bitches have huge crushes on you, right? Apparently Namikawa wants to leave you a love letter," I pointed out, watching closely for his reaction.

"I've rejected plenty of people before. I'm just don't want to get into a relationship right now. My family comes before everything else. The head of my family doesn't want me to get sidetracked from my duties by having a girlfriend."

"Well, who says that you have to do what he tells you to?"

He froze, his eyes widening like I had said something mind-blowing. A wisp of a smile upturned his lips, but he quickly turned away, eyes narrowing as he looked out the window. "It looks like the rain's pretty much stopped, so we should probably hurry home before they start to worry. Come on."

I wiped my mouth with a napkin, before tossing the plastic container and chopsticks into a garbage can, following him out of the shop without thinking of the beef that we were supposed to buy.

And this time, he finally had the sense to slow down.


	11. Chapter 11- Bad Luck

Third Person POV

A balding man wearing a brown overcoat and carrying a briefcase stood at the cold metal gates of the Sohma estate, a place that he hadn't been to in over a decade. After his daughter had been born, he had chosen to resign from his post (a feat that was easier said than done) in favor of a less time-consuming occupation.

And now that he was called back, he had no clue what to think of it.

Akira-sama had passed away in the time he had been gone. And in his place was his heir, nine-year-old Sohma Akito, who had told him that he required his assistance in something, and that his daughter was in his custody.

_His daughter_. He shuddered, chills running up and down his spine. How long had it been since he had last had contact with her? Five or six years?

His ex-wife and her new family were constantly moving around Japan, and when he had finally gotten ahold of their address and tried to mail them child support checks or birthday cards, the letters were always returned, claiming that no one of the names he printed on the envelopes lived there.

He had missed her. Missed threading his calloused fingers through her silky black hair. Playing chess with her on cold winter nights. Hearing her bubbly laugh.

The thought of his former employers doing anything to her terrified him. And so, without thinking, he had taken two weeks off from work and traveled to the Sohma estate with nothing else in mind.

The gates ominously swung open, welcoming him inside. He nodded to himself, gingerly stepping inside, his dark eyes surveying the all-too-familiar courtyard.

A servant wearing a dark blue kimono embroidered with golden phoenixes approached him. "Fujikawa Katashi, I presume?"

He nodded. The woman bowed to him, gesturing with a frail arm to the stone path that cut straight through the traditionally-styled buildings. "This way, Fujikawa-san."

After walking a reasonable distance, he found the grand house where the head of the family always resided. Inhaling deeply, he anxiously licked his chapped lips before ascending the stairs, listening to the wooden floorboards creaking under his feet.

Katashi knocked on the screen door, and a tinny voice called out, "Come in!"

He slid it open. A young child sat on the mats, surrounded by dimly-lit candles. He was scarily frail, dark circles ringing his onyx eyes that contained a certain devious glint Katashi had never seen in someone so young.

Akito gave him an eerily calm smile, and was about to open his mouth to say something when the man interrupted him, croaking, "What have you done with Sukochi?"

The boy clicked his tongue, folding his hands in his lap. "My, my, so hasty. I would have expected at least a proper introduction. I am your former master's son. How have you been, Fujikawa-san?"

"You didn't answer the question," the man repeated insistently, voice wavering.

He smirked impishly. "Worry not, my good man. I've done nothing to your little girl. I may have...stretched the truth just a bit. She's not exactly in my custody. Just living two buildings away with three of my dearest cousins. You remember Hatori, Shigure, and Ayame, don't you?"

Katashi nodded, before realizing something and asking incredulously, "You sent them to a normal high school?"

Akito waved a hand in the air dismissively, saying airily, "It was merely an experiment. I wanted to see how loyal they were to me, and teach them that the outside world isn't as wonderful as they had anticipated. But when they directly disobeyed me, befriended your daughter, and even had the audacity to bring her to live in our estate, I knew that this was a perfect opportunity."

Heart racing, he managed to spit out, "What do you want _me_ for?"

"It's simple. I want you to tail your daughter for the next two months and give me detailed reports on her activity. On Hatori, Shigure, and Ayame's activity," the boy instructed, leaning forward and resting his chin on his palm. "Ooh, I almost forgot...remember what I said about me not doing anything to your daughter? Well, if you refuse to cooperate with me...how to put this? Hm, let's just say that it just might not be guaranteed anymore." His voice trailed off ominously, and it was clear that he took great pleasure in seeing the former servant fidget uncomfortably, a bead of sweat trickling down his temple.

"Fine," he choked. "I'll do it."

The young god gave him a closed-eye smile, tilting his head to thane side in a fashion that Katashi assumed was supposed to be cute but only served to make the little boy more menacing. "Thank you, Fujikawa-san. I knew I could count on you."

"But will I be able to see her?" the man blurted out. "After you're finished with me, I mean."

The child thought about it for a moment, before nodding, lips curling upwards. "Indeed. That will be our bargain. You gather intel on your darling daughter for me, and I guarantee her safety and will allow you to see her. Any more questions, Fujikawa-san?"

He shook his head.

"Excellent. You are dismissed."

XXX

Sukochi's POV

It had been raining crazily for the past two weeks, whether it be a light drizzle or a miserable, typhoon-esque storm. And today happened to be no exception.

The moment I sat up in bed groggily, rubbing my eyes, I heard the howling winds and raindrops relentlessly pounding against the windowpane with renewed vigor. Groaning, I slammed myself back down onto the mattress, grabbing my pillow and using it to cover my head. "Ugh, make it stop!"

The door flew open, and Shigure pirouetted inside, bearing a mug of green tea that he set down on my nightstand. "Good morning, Fujikawa-chan!"

"Says who?" I grumbled, burying myself deeper under the sheets. "Five more minutes, 'kay?"

"Fujikawa-chan, it's already eight," he sighed, sitting down on the edge of my bed and shaking my shoulder gently. "I've already let you oversleep-"

"Shit," I swore, bolting up and shoving him off my bed, leaping off of the comfy mattress to push him out of the room before he could protest. Slamming the door shut, I took a deep breath.

I could already tell that this was going to be a long day.

XXX

"Today, we're going to conduct an experiment commonly known as 'elephant's toothpaste'," Minami-sensei announced, pacing around the front of the lab, high heels clacking on the tiled floor.

"Well, other animals care about dental hygiene too." Shigure leaned over to whisper not-so-quietly to Ayame.

The teacher sent a sharp look in their direction, effectively shutting them up. "Anyways, the product of this rather simple experiment is the result of a chemical reaction, which creates a rapid expansion of foam. This experiment has the potential to be dangerous, so please follow instructions and don't try anything funny. I'll be watching." I could have sworn that she was looking at me. "Line up at the counter and grab a pair of dishwashing gloves and safety goggles. I don't want any of you to go blind."

The class stood up, awkwardly shuffling to where she stood, pulling on the plastic gloves and wincing as we snapped the goggles onto our faces. After a few minutes, we were all settled down, staring blankly at eye droppers filled with magenta food coloring, tall brown bottles of three percent hydrogen peroxide, dishwashing detergent, dry yeast, graduated cylinders, and glass beakers.

Hatori ended up being my lab partner, since he had declined the offer of pairing up with some of his admirers. Also because no one else really wanted to have the pleasure of working with me. What a pity.

"Okay, first, measure one hundred milliliters of the hydrogen peroxide using your glass beakers."

Screwing my face up in concentration, I picked up the bottle, hands quivering slightly as I carefully poured the liquid into the glass container. After assuming that I had measured correctly, I handed it to Hatori, who bent down and narrowed his eyes as he assessed whether or not it was accurate. After a couple of seconds of thinking, he nodded in satisfaction.

Following her instructions, we dumped the hydrogen peroxide into the graduated cylinder, before adding the detergent, ten drops of food coloring, dry yeast, lukewarm water. We took a step back, watching as a jet of magenta foam began forming in the cylinder, expanding out of the top and spilling onto the table. Unfortunately, we had placed our supplies too close to the edge and drops of the foam fell onto the floor.

"Oops." I turned around and grabbed a paper towel from behind us, before leaning forward to mop up the mess we had made. However, being the clumsy idiot that I was, I slipped on the puddle of bright magenta foam and fell onto Hatori.

His eyes widened as I circled my arms around his waist in an attempt to regain my balance. But, despite my efforts, the two of us still toppled to the ground with a loud thud, drawing everyone's attention.

I was about to mutter an apology, but instead, I heard a loud popping sound. A puff of smoke rose into the air, and what looked like his school uniform flopped to the ground.

And lying on the collared shirt was...a tiny, butterscotch-hued seahorse that was pathetically flailing its fins. In place of Hatori. Who had been helping me dump detergent and hydrogen peroxide into a graduated cylinder less than two minutes ago.

He was a seahorse. Hatori had transformed into a fucking seahorse right before my very eyes.

I must have been hallucinating. But that didn't stop me from almost hyperventilating.

I mean, what would _you_ have done?

People were muttering, whispering things like "what's going on?", trying to peer through the thick haze. I shot a helpless look at Shigure and Ayame, who exchanged worried and glances.

Shigure looked frantically around the room, before his dark eyes lit up and he snatched a glass vial from the next desk over. A smeared and crumpled hand-written label read: "highly dangerous chemicals- do not touch without adult supervision."

Disregarding these instructions and seemingly in suspended time, he smashed the vial on the ground, releasing a ceiling-high, foul-smelling, rusty orange mushroom cloud into the air that immediately filled the entire room. My classmates coughed, trying to wave the poisonous chemicals away from their faces, yelling words that were inaudible over the din.

"Evacuate! Evacuate!" I vaguely heard Minami-sensei shout, listening to the scuffling of my classmates' footsteps. "Everyone, out!"

Still dazed, I continued to stare at the twitching seahorse, confused as to what to do. Suddenly, a harsh voice whispered in my ear, "What are you doing? Do you _want_ him to die? Just hurry up and go to the bathroom! Go through the back exit!"

I blinked, in shock. "What-"

"Just go!"

I swallowed back any protests and told myself to man up, before nodding, scooping up seahorse Hatori and his clothes. I felt my way through the poisonous smoke, clasping a hand on my mouth and nose. Finally, my hand found a cold, smooth surface. Fumbling for a moment, I managed to push open the door, almost gasping in relief at the abundance of untainted, cool air.

I took a few wheezy breaths, before looking around to see if the hallway were empty. Everything was completely silent, students locked up in their classrooms. After reassuring myself that the coast was clear, I dashed towards the girls bathroom, wondering if it was okay to bring my guy friend/seahorse with me into there.

To hell with it. I'd done crazier things before this.

As I pushed open the door and burst into a stall, I unwrapped the seahorse from its confinements, hastily tossing him/it into the toilet bowl. After stopping for a moment to process what just happened, I peered anxiously into the toilet bowl, before suddenly realizing that a seahorse might not survive in dirty toilet water.

But then again, where was I supposed to find saltwater before he suffocated? I'd just have to hope for the best.

I spoke hesitantly to what felt like thin air, "Um, well...I guess I'll just leave your clothes in here..." I bent down and awkwardly placed his pile of crumpled clothes on the ground, patting it gently. "You're going to go back to normal...right?" No reponse, of course. Stupid me.

I stepped out, closing the stall door and walking to the tiled wall closest to the stall, easing myself into a sitting position and hugging my legs to my chest. "Well, we've gotten ourselves into a huge fucking mess. It's not everyday that you see your lab partner randomly transform into a seahorse. Honestly, I don't know what to make of it. I'm not even gonna try hiding the fact that I am really damn confused. But...do you want to know the truth, Sohma? I haven't been so fucking happy since Daichi died. Even if it doesn't seem like it...I like you guys. Honestly. You didn't treated me like I was a freak. You stuck with me even though I was a stupid bitch. And all I want to know is...why didn't you tell me-?"

A loud pop and splash interrupted my monologue. There was a grunt as he eased himself out of the toilet, his bare legs visible in the gap between the stall door and the floor. "You don't understand."

"What's there to understand?" I crumpled my hand into a fist. "You turn into a seahorse. Sure, it's really weird and I'm still really shocked and scared and surprised and confused, but I-"

"I'm sure you had the same mentality back when we met," he interrupted sarcastically. "Would you mind getting me some paper towels? I'm soaked."

I complied, ripping open the top of the dispenser and handing the entire roll of rough paper to Hatori from underneath the stall. "Things change, Sohma. You know my secrets. Why don't I know yours? We say we're friends, but...do I really know a damn thing about you?"

Skirting around my previous question, he decided to do the thing I absolutely hated and answered my perfectly fair inquiry with his own question. "So, aren't you going to run away?" I heard a loud rip as he tore off a piece of paper towel and used it to dab his drenched skin.

I widened my eyes in surprise, before laughing bitterly, "Of course I'm not gonna run away. Where else can I go? You don't think that I'm gonna go back home to my family, do you? And I don't have any distant relatives or family friends around. Even though you guys are a bit of a pain sometimes, I don't mind living with you three at all. I mean, I get free food and a nice room and get to see you guys all the time, right?"

There was no response.

"So...are you gonna explain this shit to me or not? You know that this isn't something that anyone can forget easily. I'm not going to let this blow over. So start talking, bastard," I demanded, voice piercing the cold air and sounding a lot firmer than I anticipated.

There was only silence for thirty seconds, before he started to speak slowly, "Ever since ancient times...fourteen members of the Sohma family are cursed by the spirits of the zodiac. The twelve animals, the cat, and our god."

The zodiac? A seahorse was always said to be a tiny dragon, so...didn't that make all the more sense?

"So it's not just you? What about Shigure and Ayame?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. All three of us. Whenever we're hugged by the opposite sex, we transform into our cursed animal. It's a confidential secret. Most of the family aren't allowed to know about it. And the same goes for outsiders."

Like me. Something inside me flared in anger at the thought of being treated like an outsider again.

"And that's why you guys don't have girlfriends. Because if they tried to hug you, your secret would be exposed, right?" I mused.

"We argued to go to a normal high school. And once we were granted grudging permission, we were ordered not to interact with girls."

"Well, that didn't really work," I muttered under my breath. No wonder Hatori had been so against me living with them. They had put their secret at risk by welcoming me into their home. And I couldn't help but wonder why they did it all for me.

He stepped out of the stall, rubbing a paper towel on his still-wet hair. He walked past me, heading towards the door. A hand on the doorknob, he hesitated, turning around and remarking quietly, "It's best if we don't let anyone know that you're aware of the curse."

"I-"

"Trust me, Fujikawa." He interrupted, urgency overtaking his calm voice. "Things will turn out a lot better if you do."

I made a face at him, protesting and tugging at his shirt, "I still get the feeling that you're hiding something, Sohma-"

"I'll tell you later. We should start heading back before they start to worry." Refusing to look me in the eye, he strode forward, walking at the same brisk pace as the other day.

I sighed, exasperatedly staring at his retreating back before dashing forward to follow him.

Why did I have such bad luck in picking friends?

XXX

A/N: I spent a lot of time thinking about this chapter and angsting about how to do this, so the writing process for this was writing dialogue and deleting it/constantly revising it. It was pretty stressful, but it definitely paid off in the end! I'm pretty happy with how this turned out. :)

Criticism is always welcome, and reviews are lovely! ^^


	12. Chapter 12- Revelations

Hatori's POV

I sat at my desk, hunched over my English textbook and mumbling the words under my breath. Before I could turn the page and continue reading the next passage, there was an urgent knock on my door.

"Come in." I turned around in my chair, raising an eyebrow at an out-of-breath Shigure. "What is it?"

'Someone's here to see you." He jutted his thumb towards the stairs.

My heart almost stopped. I stood up abruptly, pushing past Shigure and walking down the stairs. The woman before was waiting at the door, hands folded together, her head slightly inclined. "Good evening, Hatori-san."

"Hello," I greeted stiffly, bowing in return. "Do you need something?"

"Akito-sama wishes to speak with you." Her eyes darted around, and she lowered her voice to almost a whisper. "And the girl."

My eyes widened, and I wanted to protest, but I merely nodded, forcing all of the worst case scenarios out of my head. "We'll be there as soon as we can. Thank you."

The woman murmured in assent, before disappearing in the darkness.

Had she somehow found out that Fujikawa knew? I cursed myself under my breath. I should have known that keeping secrets from her wasn't a good idea. I'd been a fool for thinking I'd be able to hide something so big under her watchful eye.

I couldn't believe I had thought that if we kept most of the truth from Fujikawa, we'd be able to continue living like this. Fujikawa still thought that the curse was just something cute and embarrassing we just didn't want the general public to find out.

How could I have thought it would be able to stay that way?

"Sohma? Is something wrong?" She poked her head out of the kitchen, a mug of green tea in hand.

I couldn't avoid it this time. The situation would only get worse if I didn't obey Akito's commands. I swallowed back my anxiety and managed to choke out, "The head of our house wants to talk to you."

Her eyes widened in surprise. She placed the mug down on the table and nodded, putting on a confident smile. "Alright. That's not too big of a deal, right?"

Get yourself together, Hatori. I cleared my throat. "Yeah. Let's just go."

XXX

With Fujikawa in tow, I tapped the screen door, saying softly, "Akito-sama? We're here."

It opened within seconds. An elderly man with a long white bear bowed to us, stepping aside and giving us a full view of Akito. She sat cross-legged, hands clasped together, lips moving soundlessly. Her young, pale face was illuminated by the dim candlelight.

Fujikawa clapped a hand to her mouth, trying not to cough at the sudden wave of incense. Her eyes widened in surprise at Akito. She was probably surprised that the person who commanded so much authority over our lives was a mere ten-year-old girl. Well, a boy in her eyes.

Akito opened her eyes and smiled serenely at us. "Hello, Hatori. It's been a long time since I last saw you."

I nodded. Tone mocking and the same eerie grin on her face, she continued, gesturing towards Fujikawa, "And you must be Fujikawa Sukochi. You're a very pretty girl, my dear."

I prayed that she wouldn't say anything back, but Fujikawa merely nodded, casting her eyes towards the ground and biting her lip.

"Kneel down before me, girl," Akito commanded, pointing to the spot in front of her. When she didn't move, seemingly petrified, she repeated herself more forcefully, "I said kneel."

"Akito-sama-"

"Quiet, Hatori. I told the girl to kneel. Why isn't she kneeling? Is she deaf? What's so amazing about her? Why isn't she doing what I say?" She was slightly hysterical, her pupils dilating. "Tell me, Hatori!"

Fujikawa sent me a distressed look, but eventually did what Akito commanded her to do, kneeling in front of her. Her bangs hung in front of her face. She clenched her fists, teeth gritted. Unlike me, she didn't seem scared or anxious. Only defiant.

Akito grabbed her chin with unnecessary force, tilting her face towards hers. "Yes, you're a very pretty girl. I can see why they chose you. How are the boys treating you? Tell me the truth, girl! Are they hurting you? Did they tell you about the curse? How did you find out about it?"

I reached forward. "Akito-sama, please stop."

Akito hissed at me, before relaxing, letting go of Fujikawa and thrusting her forward. She was sprawled on the ground, face slightly red.

Fujikawa panted, before saying through gritted teeth, "Who are you?"

The god let out a maniac laugh, drool pooling at the edge of her mouth. "Me? I'm the god of the Sohma family! Their creator! The one they'll always obey! Me, me, me!" She grinned, wiping her face with her oversized kimono sleeves. "Isn't that right, Hatori? The thirteen of you are all my slaves."

She turned to me, narrowing her eyes at me."Slaves?"

"What, so they didn't tell you the entire story?" Akito giggled, before composing herself and saying seriously, "From the moment they were born, they were all destined to be my slaves. To serve me and love me and tell me that I was the most important person in their lives. Their beloved god. That was their fate, sealed by the monsters inside them." She threw up her arms, like she was embracing the heavens. "Yes, that's what we are, Sukochi-chan! Monsters! Monsters that can never be accepted by fools like you! You thought you were better than the rest, right? You believed that you could befriend them and change their lives? Wrong, wrong, wrong!" She pointed a finger accusatively at her, face contorted into a twisted grin. "Not so proud now, hm? Aren't you disgusted? Repulsed? Aren't we horrifying creatures? We're twisted, foul beings! You're going to run away, right? They all do in the end."

"You're wrong," Fujikawa mumbled under her breath.

Akito's eyes widened in surprise, before narrowing. "Oh, really? Tell me how I'm wrong, my dear girl."

She took a deep breath, her entire body trembling. Suddenly, she lifted her head, staring straight into Akito's eyes. "I'm not gonna run away. Sohma asked me the same question, and I told him that I was gonna stay! Not even you can change that. Do you think I'm scared?" When Akito didn't respond, she laughed. "Well, you're wrong! I'm not the same stupid girl they met two months ago. I'm not gonna give up anymore! I-…"

Fujikawa's eyes brimmed with tears, and she shook her head, chuckling bitterly. "Run away, my ass. What the hell do you know about me?"

Akito looked amused. "Oh? Well, aren't you an interesting one? But you don't know the full story, do you? What we do to those who find out something they're not supposed to?"  
I froze. Please Akito, please. Don't tell her that. Anything but that.

She leaned forward, saying in that soft but deadly voice I'd hear before she'd go berserk, breaking porcelain vases and hitting me with those tiny yet strong fists. "We erase their memories." Upon seeing the shocked look on her face, she laughed gleefully. "And you wanna know who does the deed?"

"No, Akito-sama-"

"Yes, your very own friend, Sohma Hatori. The one you trusted. The one who you told all of your secrets to. Do you know the story, Fujikawa?" When she ever so slightly shook her head, appearing as if she wanted to say something, Akito's lips curled into a smirk and she explained with a certain venom in her voice, "Every generation, there's a person who has the power of hypnosis. Hatori's father had it before him. Sadly, he died in the beginning of Hatori's first year."

She put on a mock pouty face, yanking a flower out of a nearby bottle and twirling it in her fingers. "Pity. He was such a handsome man. Fortunately, Hatori not only got his good looks, but his extraordinary abilities. And so, when anyone stumbles upon our secret…," she drifted off ominously, watching the horrified look spread on her face with pure glee. "I think you can guess what happens next."

Akito reached out to stroke Fujikawa's temple, using the back of hand to push the stringy hair out of her face. Fujikawa trembled, as if she was dealing with some sort of internal struggle. Without looking up to meet Akito's eyes, she whispered, "So is that what you're going to do with me? Screw with my mind and destroy everything I've found here like the coward you are?"

The god's face contorted, and her hand left Fujikawa's face, falling back to her sides. Akito sat on her heels, cocking her head to the side. "You're an interesting one. No one has ever said anything like that to me."

She turned to me. "So, Hatori. Are you going to erase her memories? I'll leave it up to you."

My eyes widened in surprise. She was giving me a choice? Well, of course. Fujikawa was her experiment and she didn't want her to know that.

But maybe if I did choose to erase her memories, I could protect myself. Shigure and Ayame too. We could go on living the way we used to- restrained and wearing those fake smiles for the public, pretending like our lives weren't a living hell and we weren't suffering. Without Fujikawa, our lives would be less complicated. We'd go on serving Akito, pretending like we were her loyal lapdogs and that we loved her.

But no. I despised her. I despised her for doing this to us.

And I was sick of running away. Sick of turning my cheek when Kisa or Hiro or Yuki was hurt. Sick of pretending like I didn't have a mind of my own, and I merely existed to do away with the pests standing in Akito's way.

I settled my shoulders. "No. I'd like it if you allowed her to continue living with us."

Akito gave us a cheery smile. "Very well then. You are dismissed. Thank you for taking the time to meet with me. It's been a pleasure meeting you, Sukochi."

Fujikawa looked she wanted to say something, but I bowed respectfully to Akito and grabbed onto her arm, tugging her outside. "Good night, Akito-sama. Sleep well."

She was silent during our walk back to our house, seemingly in deep thought. I glanced at her multiple times, but she refused to meet my gaze, staring at the ground and kicking the pebbles around.

Shigure ran to the door when we returned. "So what happened?"

When he saw the dark look on her face, his face contorted into an ugly grimace. "She knew, didn't she?" He looked at Fujikawa, studying her face with a thoughtful expression on his face. "Fujikawa-chan-"

"So that's the truth about the curse, right?" she asked, voice dangerously quiet. Her eyes were slightly glazed over, and she clenched her fists. "You guys exist to love him, right? You don't have any other choice."

Shigure gave her an anxious look, twiddling his thumbs and fumbling with his words. "Well, yes-"

"And you're okay with that?" She faltered slightly towards the end, voice cracking. After a moment of silence, she punched the wall next to her, leaving a bit of a dent. Fujikawa looked up, a glint in her eyes. "I said, are you okay with that?"

I reached for her. "Calm down-"

"No, I'm not gonna calm down!" she shouted, stomping her foot and shoving me away. "He called you his slaves. He treated you like you were worthless. And you don't even care?" Her eyes were blazing. "No matter what she says to you, you're still gonna be Mr. Polite? You're gonna nod and mutter that yes, you'll do this, you'll do that. You're the one who taught me to do my own thing. To do what I wanted, no matter what anyone else said." A sob wracked her body. She fell to the ground, voice quieting into a whisper as she repeatedly punched the ground. "You damn hypocrites. You were lying to me this entire time."

I held her gaze, before asking quietly, "So what are you going to do now, Fujikawa?"

She wiped her eyes with her sleeves. "What the hell do you think? Why do you all think that I'm gonna run away? I'm through with that." She laughed humorlessly. "Your curse? He says that it lasts forever. To hell with that. Because I'm not gonna let this slide by. Nothing lasts forever. I know that better than anyone. So your damn god better watch out, because things are changing today!"

I knelt down and pulled her closer to me, pressing a hand to her forehead. Why hadn't I noticed before? Her skin was tinted crimson and her gaze had been slightly glassy the entire time. "You're burning up, Fujikawa. You don't know what you're saying."

She breathed heavily, eyelids fluttering. "No, you're wrong. I mean it. Everything I said- it's true."

"Don't strain yourself. You're delirious." Frowning, I carefully lowered her into a laying-down position. "Please, don't talk." I turned to face my cousin. "Shigure, get her a glass of water, a wet cloth, and some medicine." He nodded, dashing into the kitchen.

As she lay sprawled on the ground, her gaze glassy and far-away, her lips moved to form a single, hoarse word. "Hatori…"

She used my real name? Something panged inside of me at that. Such familiarity and coziness in this house. I didn't want to admit, but I'd been lonely for my entire life, despite the fact that I had my cousins my side. Locked up in this estate, sharing each other's misery. It was depressing. I couldn't deny it.

And one girl was enough to change that? To get me to lower my guard and act stupid and naive?

But things were going to change. I saw that in her eyes. She wasn't going to stop no matter what.

We had a long, potentially dangerous road ahead of us, but I had a feeling that things just might turn out okay.


	13. Chapter 13- Exceptions

Sukochi's POV

A couple of days after the incident, I was thinking that Hatori just might have been right.

I had no fucking idea what I was saying when I was delirious with fever and started spouting crap about how I'd break the curse, yada yada yada.

Because, honestly, did I expect myself to magically find a book entitled "Breaking Ancient Japanese Curses 101"?

**I**f Shigure and Ayame and Hatori didn't even have the slightest clue of how to get rid of it, how the hell was I supposed to find something that would be the least bit useful? I was just a normal girl. Really, it could've been any other person in our class living with them. And it just happened to be me.

And where the hell did the curse come from anyways? I practically flipped the entire house upside down for some documentation of when and where and why and how the curse originated and, but you know what?

There was nothing. Absolutely nothing.

And it pissed me off to no end.

And, most importantly...

My friends could turn into motherfucking animals.

They actually did. I wasn't kidding. If I went up to Hatori right now and hugged him, he would transform. Same with Ayame or Shigure or the other members of their family I haven't even met yet.

There. I said it. One step closer to accepting that this was actually real life and not some insane dream my mind had cooked up.

After combing through the house's "library" for what seemed like the millionth time, I trudged back to my room, flopping onto my bed. I stared at the white ceiling for a second, before turning over to my side, burying my face into a pillow.

Despite everything, I had to at least help them do something about the curse. It as the least I could do, considering all of things they had done for me during the past few months- taking me out of hell itself, helping me get over Daichi, letting me live with them.

Okay, it wasn't like me to get this worked up over something. But this time, things were different. Something in my gut told me I had to do this. I had a duty, and I was going to do something right for the first time in my life.

But that didn't change the fact that I knew virtually nothing about the Sohma family.

There was a sudden knock on my door. I bolted up, a strand of hair hanging in my face. I hastily pushed it back, throwing down the pillow and sitting cross-legged on my bed. "Come in."

It was Hatori. He opened the door, stepping inside the room and standing awkwardly near the entrance. "Good morning."

"Hey." I gave him a tired smile, patting the spot next to me. "Why the hell are you still standing? Stay awhile."

Hatori nodded solemnly, gingerly lowering himself down on the edge of the bed, his body angled towards mine.

"You're famous now," he remarked quietly.

"Seriously?" I raised an eyebrow. "What for?"

He shrugged. "Akito probably spread some rumors about you, and now everyone's talking about it. Some girl that we're friends with lives with us and knows our secret. And they really think that things are going to change."

"Are you trying to say that they're not?" I scoffed, making a face at him. "What did you want to talk to me about anyways?"

"I'm actually here on official business." The corners of his lips upturned in a slight smile. "Someone wants to meet you. And I'm just relaying the message."

"Oh, really? So who is it?"

His hand slipped into his pocket. He sifted through it for a moment, before handing me a slightly faded photograph, its corners dog-eared. I accepted it and held it closer to my face.

A man in his late-twenties to early-thirties smiled serenely at me. His hair and eyes were both a soft, glowing silver, bangs hanging in front of his face. He was handsome in a way, with angular cheekbones, a long, pointy nose, and a pronounced jaw.

Hatori gently pried the picture from my grasp, placing it back into his pocket and explaining, "Sohma Kazuma."

"Is he cursed?"

He shook his head. "No. He's fairly close to the inside family though, since his grandfather was the former cat. He owns the Sohma family dojo. I took lessons with him when I was younger."

"I can tell you're hiding something from me." I furrowed my brow in concentration, leaning forward and giving him a playful poke on the tip of his nose. "Spill it, you."

He sighed quietly, swatting my hand away. "Okay, you got me. He's also the foster father of the current cat. Sohma Kyo."

The cat. The worst animal to be cursed with, Hatori had explained.

"Foster father?" I echoed, looking down at my lap. "What happened?"

"His mother committed suicide a couple of years ago. He and his father didn't get along very well, so Kazuma-san decided to take him in and said that he would train him to be the best martial artist the family had ever seen." Hatori sort-of smiled, tilting his head up to look at the ceiling.

"Do you know him very well?" I asked hesitantly.

"Kyo? Not really." He let out a bitter chuckle. "I've only met him a couple of times, and he doesn't seem to like me very much. As matter of fact, the only person he really likes is Kazuma-san."

There was a long pause.

"Wow, that puts ten times the pressure on me," I groaned, swinging my legs over my bed and slipping my feet into a pair of fuzzy slippers. I stood up and yawned, stretching my arms over my head. "I'll be downstairs in a bit. Just give me a minute to get ready."

Hatori led me to the far corner of the estate- a place I had never been to before.

And it had to be one of the most beautiful things I'd ever seen.

The dojo was a squat, traditionally-styled wooden building surrounded by a blossoming garden. Azalea bushes bloomed, boasting numerous shades of purple and pink. Koi and carp swam frantically around a lotus pond. A zen garden with waves of perfectly smooth white pebbles and artistically-placed boulders was sliced in half by a path that led to the entrance of the building.

Hatori rapped his knuckles lightly against the fusuma. "Kazuma-san?"

The sliding door opened immediately, and the man from the photograph appeared, dressed in a simple blue kimono with a gray sash. He smiled graciously, bowing his head respectfully towards me. "Fujikawa Sukochi, I presume?"

I nodded, swallowing back a gulp. He nodded, gesturing to a small table in the center of the sitting room. "Why don't you have a seat?"

Hatori gave me an encouraging nudge forward. I turned around to scowl at him, but he just shoved past me and sat cross-legged on the floor. I sighed, quickening my pace to join him.

Kazuma sat down opposite to us, easing himself down on the wooden mat. He smiled kindly at me. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Fujikawa-san. I've heard nothing that wasn't about you in the last two weeks."

"That many people know about it?" I laughed nervously.

The man picked up a ceramic teapot and poured a stream of green tea into the cups that were sitting in front of us. He chuckled softly. "Well, it's not everyday that Akito-sama allows an outsider to live with us. Especially since you're aware of the curse."

That word again. I was still an outsider.

I bit my lip, picking up my cup and gingerly sipping the scalding-hot tea.

"So what do you think of it?"

"The curse? Well..." I thought about it for a moment. "I'm still in shock, and I'm not sure if I've completely accepted it yet...but I'm okay with it, I guess."

"Well, you had a more favorable reaction to it than most people. Hatori can tell you that." The man nodded solemnly, slightly wrinkled hands gripping his mug a bit more tightly than necessary. "What I'd like to know is how you found out about the curse."

I winced at the memory. "Um, well, it's a bit of a funny story-"

"Never mind that," Hatori cut across me, lowering his cup back on the table with a loud clatter. "What I want to know is how Akito-sama found out that she knew."

Kazuma frowned, his forehead creasing. "Your guess is as good as mine, Hatori. But you know Akito-sama. He has connections everywhere, and could easily have set anyone to tail you four. I'll try to keep my ears open-"

He stopped, giving Hatori a concerned look, eyebrows knitting together. "Is there something wrong?"

I turned to my left, shocked to see that he looked genuinely surprised. His mouth was open, olive green eyes widened. "Fujikawa."

"Yeah? What is it?" I waved a hand in front of his face, giving him an irritated look. "What's wrong with you? Hatori?"

He suddenly snapped out of it, coughing into his fist and recomposing himself. He shook his head, muttering under his breath, "Sorry. I just thought of something. It's probably nothing. Forget it."

Kazuma didn't seem to believe him, but gave a minimal shrug of his shoulders and finished what he had been saying. "Well, I'll just keep my ears open for any news and send you a message if I get anything."

He was about to open his mouth, presumably to ask another question, but a loud scuffle from the hallway caught his attention. He pressed a finger to his mouth and signaled for us to stay quiet, before turning around. "Kyo? Is that you? Why don't you come out and say hello to our guests?"

There was an incoherent grumble, but a short boy who couldn't have been more than six or seven stepped out of the shadows.

I saw how he was the cat. His hair was a tangled mess of the brightest carrot-orange I had ever seen. His almond-shaped eyes had a certain feline-ish quality about them. There was a murderous glint in his stare, his gaze lingering darkly on me before switching to Hatori.

"Good morning, Kyo-kun," Hatori greeted politely, inclining his head respectfully towards the boy. "You've grown since the last time I saw you. How's your training?"

Kyo muttered something completely inaudible. He turned to his foster father. "Do you have any milk?"

The man swatted the boy on the shoulder, giving him a stern look. "Manners, Kyo. Answer the question. Hatori-onii-chan is just trying to be nice."

He rolled his eyes, and without looking him in the eye, answered, "It's fine."

Hatori nodded. "That's good to know."

"Now, Kyo." Kazuma pointed at me, giving the boy a stern look. "Are you going to introduce yourself to this nice girl here? She's the one everyone's talking about. I mentioned her last night, didn't I?"

Kyo squinted at me. "So this is her? The one Haru said was amazing? She doesn't seem that great to me."

"Kyo!" his father scolded him.

"No, um, it's okay." I shook my head, laughing. "He's right. I'm not that great. It's good that he's honest." I leaned forward to hold my hand out to him. "Hey. It's nice to meet you. I'm Fujikawa Sukochi."

He gave my hand a disgusted look, as if it was a contagious disease. "I just wanna know why everyone likes you so much. You know about the curse? So what? It could have been anyone else."

"Well, I'm not gonna deny-"

"It's not like you actually likes us or anything." His hands curled into fists. "The only reason you're being all nice is that you pity us! Stop pretending like you understand how I feel! You don't know a thing about us! You're just a stupid girl, and that's all you'll ever be!"

Before I could retaliate or Hatori stop him, he swung his fist at me, connecting with my cheek. The force of his punch left an angry red mark on my face.

I clapped a hand over it, surprised that such a strong punch came from such a tiny kid.

Seriously. It hurt like hell.

He spat on the ground, before disappearing into the hallway. Hatori scowled at him, turning to me and examining his face. "You alright? That seemed painful." He gently moved my tense fingers away from the weal, prodding it with the tip of his index finger."

Kazuma was shocked. He reached towards me, eyes widened in concern. "I apologize, he usually isn't this rude."

I grimaced, cupping my cheek. "Nah, believe it or not, I'm not really mad. I probably would've done the same thing if I was his age."

"Would you like some ice?" the man asked, standing up when I nodded. "I'll be back in a moment." He disappeared into the kitchen, leaving me and Hatori alone in the living room.

"I thought you would have been angrier at that," he remarked quietly. "If Shigure slapped you like that, you'd probably plan some evil scheme to get back at him."

"Oh, come on, like he would dare do something like that to me!" I scoffed, waving a hand in the air. "And what kind of person do you think I am? You think I'd really hurt a kid? And I kind of feel bad for him. What he said wasn't totally wrong- I really don't understand you guys."

The older man came back with a bag of ice wrapped in a hand towel. I accepted it gratefully, pressing it to my cheek. The refreshing coolness rested comfortably against the weal, numbing the still sharp pain.

I couldn't stop thinking about the kid. Unforgiving eyes. Pessimistic attitude. Explosive temper.

Goddammit, he was just like me.

I stood up abruptly, still clutching the ice pack to my face. Hatori and Kazuma gave me quizzical looks, but I merely bowed at them, asking, "There's something I gotta do. Kazuma-san, can you tell me where Kyo's room is?"

"Down the hall," he answered, pursing his lips. "If you're trying to talk to him, I don't think-"

"No, I'm positive I can do it!" I reassured him stubbornly. "Just leave it to me!"

"Oh, I have no doubt that you can." The man gave me a knowing smile, pointing towards the ceiling. "But if you want to find Kyo, he'll probably be up on the roof."

I gaped at him. But cats, high places...well, that made some sort of sense. "Okay...um, how am I supposed to get up there?"

"Are you sure you're up to it?" Kazuma frowned. "Kyo is the cat, after all, and he's probably a lot more...flexible than you. If you can't stand heights, it might be a little difficult for you."

I shook my head. I definitely wasn't going to let this go. "No. I think I can manage."

Hatori touched my arm. "Fujikawa-"

"No. This is just something I have to do." I turned to Kazuma, pleading, "Please, Kazuma-san. How can I get onto the roof?"

The dojo master was obviously still reluctant, but he finally agreed to it. "Take the staircase to the second floor. There's a hatch that leads to the attic. Once you get up there, look closely and you'll find a trapdoor. Open it, and that's Kyo's hiding place." He closed his eyes. "Please be careful, Fujikawa-san."

I nodded gratefully, removing the ice pack and putting it back on the table. "Thank you, Kazuma-san!"

I sprinted up the stairs, taking two at a time. When I got to the top, I stumbled a bit, my socks sliding on the polished wooden floors for a second before I managed to regain my balance.

The hallway was deserted. I tilted my head up, surveying the ceiling and searching for the hatch he had told me about. Nothing, nothing...there it was!

I dashed forward, standing on tip-toe to grasp the rusty handle. Grimacing, I tugged at it, trying to ignore my aching cheek. With a loud squeal it opened, spraying wood chips and dust in my face.

I buried my face into my sleeve and squeezed my eyes shut. When I tentatively opened them again, the dust had been cleared away, a ladder at my feet.

I took a deep breath, before running up and finding myself in a dark and dusty storage room. The only light came from a couple of dimly lit lamps placed around the spacious room and the still-open hatch. Unopened boxes were stacked messily around the room, as well as a couple of dragon statues. A worn mannequin leaned against the wall, outfitted with an Akido training uniform.

Ducking so my head wouldn't constantly bang against the ceiling, I ran my hand against rough wood of the ceiling, feeling for another handle. I found it, pulling it open to reveal a square of bright-blue sky.

After realizing I couldn't possible climb up there on my own, I grabbed a box that was sitting against the wall and placed it under the opening. Climbing on top of it and trying to keep my balance, I reached my hands through the hatch and grabbed onto the roof.

Praying that I wouldn't screw up and make myself look even more pathetic in the eyes of a kid who already hated my guts, I pushed myself up, swinging my legs over so I was crouching on the roof.

Don't look down, Sukochi. Don't you fucking look down.

I surveyed the roof, grinning triumphantly when I spotted Kyo. He was sitting several meters from me, his feet dangling over the edge of the roof.

"Hey!" I called out jovially, waving at him.

He turned around, eyes widening in surprise. When he realized who it was, however, he gave me a death glare reminiscent of Hatori's, before demanding, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Language, language," I chided, standing up carefully and walking over to him, arms crossed over my chest. "I'm not trying to hurt you or anything. I just wanted to check up on you and make sure you were safe."

"I don't need your help," he scoffed, determinedly staring at the scenery from where he was sitting- he bustling city in the distance and the estate's buildings/gardens. It really was spectacular.

"Nice view, huh?" I said pleasantly, smiling at him. "I see why you like it up here."

When he didn't respond, I decided to get straight to the point. I wasn't going to try and act all big sister-y towards him when he wasn't even appreciating it my efforts. "Okay, okay, fine. All small talk aside, I just wanted to clear up any misunderstandings. I think you're a nice kid, and I want to get you know better, and I really don't want us to start on the wrong foot." I cleared my throat. Goddammit, Sukochi, stop it with the clichés. "So I'm just gonna start by saying this- what you said earlier was wrong."

Kyo continued to scowl at a bird that was circling the estate, still refusing to look at me.

Okay, so he didn't have anything to say to that. I cleared my throat. "You told me that I didn't understand how you felt even though I was pretending to, right? Well, maybe I do."

I took a deep breath. "Hatori told me what happened with your mother. I'm really sorry, kid."

The boy growled at me, showing off his unnaturally sharp canines. "What right does that bastard have to tell you stuff like that?"

"Don't say that about him. Hatori cares about you," I scolded, before sighing. "Whatever. That's besides the point. What I was trying to say is that you're not the only one who's gone through something like that. Can I tell you a personal story, Kyo?"

He hesitated, but eventually bobbed his head up and down. I tentatively took a couple of steps forward and eased myself down besides him, sitting cross-legged and doing my best to ignore the fact that I was fifty feet above solid ground.

"Okay...I used to have a twin brother. Twins don't usually get along that well, but I loved him more than anything in the world."

My eyes teared up a bit, but I wiped them away and kept on going. "And then one day...he was gone. I was sick that day, so I couldn't go to swim practice with him. My dad got into a car accident on the way back, and...well, that was it. A part of me died that day. I couldn't stop wondering about what I'd done wrong."

I glanced back at the kid. His face seemed to be frozen, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.

Good. It was finally having an effect on him. I went on. "My parents started getting into pretty crazy fights after that. It got so bad that they had to get a divorce. My dad left us one day, and I haven't seen him since. No phone calls, no letters. I guess I was just a part of his life he didn't need. My mom remarried this guy, so she has another kid now. Plus my stepsister. And because of that I've felt like I was some extra baggage from a part of her life she wanted to ditch completely. I just couldn't fit in with my mom and her new family.

"And that was when I met Hatori, Shigure, and Ayame." I smiled fondly at the memory. "I didn't like them at first. But they grew on me and we became friends. They let me live with them, and helped me pretty much get over everything. I'm so much happier now that it's almost hard to believe."

I choked up a bit. "So don't say that I don't get you, okay? I've gone through a lot too, and because a few people helped out a stupid girl like me, I'm where I am. With you. I'm not here because I pity you, or anyone else for that matter. I'm here because I owe Hatori, Shigure, and Ayame a lot and plan to do whatever I can to help them out. And that goes for the rest of your family."

Kyo seemed to be conflicted, face flickering from sympathetic to uncertain. He finally came to a conclusion, face turning beet-red as he muttered under his breath, "I'm sorry for punching you."

"Oh, that?" I waved my hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it. I'm just glad that you were able to practice some of your moves on a worthy opponent like me."

He reluctantly cracked a grin. "Thank you, Sukochi-onee-chan."

My heart just about melted at that.

And, hey...do you remember when I said that the only person who was allowed to call me that was Daichi?

Well, I guess I could make an exception this time.


End file.
